Friends ReBirth
by Kaiyo No Umi
Summary: There are a ton of different people. Some of them like each other, some of them don't. For a pair of CPU Candidates, it all comes down to perspective. Warning: Male!Nepgear
1. Preparation

Friends Re;Birth

* * *

Chapter 1: Preparation

* * *

A young girl, wearing a black dress with a milky blue lining, and an unconnected belt with a bow at the back of the belt with a button-like circle connected her dress with her separate collar, sped into Lastation's Guild. With each step, her long black boots with a milky blue coloring at the top clacked against the floor and her silky black hair, tied into two side updo pigtails held together by black and milky blue ribbons, bounced until she stopped at the counter at the end of the lobby.

"E-Excuse me!" The girl's hands, covered by long fingerless gloves with a similar scheme to her boots, pressed themselves against the smooth, cold, marble countertop, raising herself up at the same time. Strapped to the left side of her belt was her U-ta, a small electronic device that allowed her to call her friends and connections, check her Chirper, and other actions that needed a smartphone, bounced around as she lifted herself up.

The girl's loud, high-pitched voice caught the attendant's attention, and the attention of everyone else around her. The attendant, giggling at young girl's shining ruby red orbs, smiled at her.

" _Hey, she's kind cute."_

" _Dude, don't even. She's too young."_

" _Wait, doesn't she look familiar?"_

"Yes, how may I help you?" The attendant turned her eyes behind the girl to see her goddess walking up behind her. "Ah, Lady Noire!"

Murmurs erupted behind her.

" _That's Lady Noire!"_

" _Oh my god, it is her!"_

" _I'm so happy to work here!"_

"Uni, you're too hasty." Noire, who almost identical to the smaller girl, except that she wore a dress that looked exceedingly complicated to put together in a small amount of time, placed a hand on the smaller girl. The attendant widened her hazelnut eyes, glancing from Noire to the smaller girl.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you, Lady Uni!" All of the people in the surrounding area stared at the young girl, Uni. Uni's face flushed upon hearing the title in her name and diverted her eyes towards the counter, her cheeks slowly turning red.

"U-Um, I'd like to see what Quests are available…" Noire patted Uni on the head, letting the girl hide behind the counter.

"Sorry about that." Noire shrugged her shoulders, a small smile on her face. "Uni's a bit excited." The attendant nodded. "So can I take a look at the Quests?"

"O-Oh, yes! Of course!" The woman reached under her counter and pulled out a holographic screen. "He-Here you go!" Thanking the attendant, Noire turned around and leaned against the counter, scanning through the Quests.

"Hold on just for a second, Uni." Uni nodded enthusiastically. Spinning around, the CPU Candidate of Lastation clenched her fists and crouched down.

This was it!

All she had to do was get her Quest from Noire and then she'll be able to go on her first Quest… All on her own!

When she first heard that Noire wanted her to take care of a Quest on her own, Uni couldn't believe it. This has to be a reward for working so hard.

Uni nodded to herself, bumping a hand to her chest.

"Yeah, that's it!" Noire pushed on one of the rectangular boxes and returned the scroll to the attendant.

"This one please." The attendant nodded and began to prepare the Quest. Noire pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Neptune?" Noire pulled her phone away from her ear as an abnormally cheerful voice, catching Uni by surprise.

"Neptune?" Wasn't that Planeptune's CPU? Why would Noire call her?

"Geez, you don't need to yell everytime I call!" Noire glanced to the side. "N-Not that I don't like or anything…" Pressing her lips together, Noire furrowed her brows and put the phone in front of her mouth. "Anyway! You better make sure he gets here on time!" The CPU of Lastation put the phone back to her ear huffing. "I'm hanging up now." Noire's eyes widened as she looked at her phone's screen. "I'm not lone-" Noire sighed. "She hung up on me..."

Throughout that entire conversation, Uni was listening closely. He? What does Noire have an appointment with someone from Planeptune? Then would she have to call Neptune? Why didn't she just call him? Wait, why is Noire looking at her like that?

"Uni, here's your Quest." Oh. That's why she was looking at her. Uni took the small chip from Noire, plugging into her U-ta.

The Guild App opened up and popped open the Quest.

 **Quest:**

 _I wanna go to the beach, but there are too many monsters! Someone please get rid of them for me! - Beach Lover_

 **Location:**

 _WaveRunner Coast_

 **Clear Condition:**

 _Defeat 100 enemies_

 **Enemies:**

 _Dogoo_

 _M-3_

 _Pixel Vader_

 _ **King Pac**_

 _ **Epsilon**_

"O-O-One hundred!?" Uni nearly dropped her phone. One hundred monsters!? She knew that Noire expected her to handle this on her own, but this is too muc- No. Noire knew that she could handle this. That's why she was given this Quest!

Uni smiled to herself, happy at the responsibility given to her. Putting her phone away, Uni hyped herself up and turned to Noire.

"Don't worry, Noire! I won't let you down!" Noire smiled.

"Of course you won't." Noire glanced at her phone. "I just hope your partner is as good as Neptune brags about…" Uni stopped moving, dead in her tracks.

"Eh?" What? Partner? B-B-But… "W-Wait, Noire…" Uni slightly raised a hand to her older sister. "T-this Quest is just for me r-right?" Noire was bewildered.

" _On your own?!_ " Noire shook her head. "I have no idea where you got that crazy idea from!" The CPU of Lastation crossed her arms, looking at her little sister. "There is no way that I'd let you do something as dangerous like this by yourself." Uni's hand trembled.

"B-But I worked hard…" Sighing, Noire put a hand on Uni's shoulder.

"Uni, you've worked hard. Trust me, I know. I've seen your progress. But like I said, taking on a hundred monsters would be too difficult on your own." Uni lowered her head, crestfallen. "I'm sorry, Uni. I stand by my decision. You'll meet your partner at the front of WaveRunner Coast." Noire walked towards the front entrance of the Guild. "Come on."

"Aw man…" Uni folded her hands behind the small of her back and kicked the shiny marble floor that just had been waxed a while ago. A janitor nearby looked tortured as Uni absentmindedly ruined his masterpiece. "I really thought Noire trusted me…" Slowly walking towards the front entrance, a thought slowly bubbled it's way up to her head.

What if…

What if Noire was testing her?

Yeah, that's it!

Noire was testing her to see if she could handle this Quest! Uni bet that if she was able to handle this perfectly, Noire would have to let her take Quests on her own!

Thrusting both fists into the air and ignoring the people around her, a fire began to burn in Uni's eyes, completely ignoring the powerful aura surrounding her and intimidating the people in the Guild.

"I'll do it!"

But first, she had to prepare…

Yeah, she had to bring supplies…

Like food, water, ammo, guns, some first aid, maybe even a gattling gun…

Uni is ready for this!

Just you wait, One hundred WaveRunner Coast monsters that she'll have to run into eventually! Uni's going to pelt you with a barrage of bullets- Not arrows, because she doesn't have any of those! Just bullets!


	2. Quest

Chapter 2: Quest

* * *

"Late…" Uni was in WaveRunner Coast, a dungeon that essentially a maze of bridges and platform. The entirety of the bridges and platforms had a religious stained-glass theme with gray as the main color, but the reds, blues, yellows had dulled from years of neglect. Coral-shelled shaped buildings perimetered the area, but were blocked off by police barriers.

Uni was sitting on one of the rails near the front of the dungeon, her foot tapping against the floor. Glancing at her watch, Uni bit the inside of her cheek. Noire had dropped off Uni at the entrance some time ago, but her partner had yet to appear. In fact, she was sure that the meeting time that Neptune and Noire had discussed was almost up.

"Where is this guy?" Uni let her head rest on her hand and pulled out her U-ta, opening her Guild App. "Let's see here…" Opening her Quest Log, Uni scrolled down to the enemy list. "I've fought a bunch of these guys with Noire. They're aren't that though…" Her eyes landed on the last two names, reading them aloud to herself. Biting her lip, Uni couldn't help but worry. "Why were they bolded? It's like they're dangerous or something…"

Suddenly, Uni's Guild App zipped away, replaced by her sister's number and picture. A ringtone of her sister's voice singing an anime opening filled her ears and surrounding area. Luckily for Uni, no monsters were nearby. Answering the phone, Uni raised her U-ta up to her ear.

"Hello, Noire?" Uni heard her sister huff. Oh no. Did she do something wrong? Did she wait at the wrong spot? Wait no, Noire told her this was the place. In fact, Uni and Noire flew here half an hour ago to make sure that she wasn't late. That and because Noire apparently had some meeting in Planeptune at the same time.

"Uni? You alright?" Oh right, Noire. Uni better answer and hope she wasn't in trouble.

"Y-Yeah, I'm here." Noire sighed

"Sorry, Uni." Huh? Why is Noire apologizing?

"What do you mean?" Noire huffed again, this time Uni could hear the frustration under her breath.

"Your partner just left a while ago." Uni blinked her eyes, rubbed them and blinked again.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, so… Neptune told your partner that we were gonna meet up here, at Planeptune's Basilicomm." Uni nodded her head, slowly.

"Okay…" Noire sighed again.

"Sorry, Uni. But don't worry, your partner has a super fast fighter jet and is on the- Wha!?" Uni flinched and yanked her phone away from her ears. "Ne-Neptune let go of me!" Glancing to the left, then to the right, Uni hung up the phone.

"Sorry, Noire…" Uni didn't want to lose her hearing, even if it was because of her sister's voice. Sighing and putting her U-ta away, the CPU Candidate looked up to the cloudy sky. "A plane huh…" Uni reached a hand towards the sky, spreading her fingertips far and wide. "I wonder how it feels to fly in a comfortable space like that…"

Closing her eyes, Uni felt a slight breeze blow by, catching her hair and carrying it for a bit. Once the wind died down, a quiet roar reached Uni's ears.

"That's…" Opening her eyes, Uni stood up and turned towards the direction of the sound. Narrowing her eyes, Uni stared down the horizon to see a small purple glint. Both the glint and the roar got louder and louder with each passing second. "That's…" Uni's eyes widened. "That's too close!" The Candidate dived to the ground as the plane flew over her.

A strong gust of wind caused by the plane blew by, causing Uni to brace herself and nearly miss the sound of something hitting the bridge and rolling around to her side.

"Geez, what was that?" Getting to her feet, Uni glance to the side. "Hey…"

A few feet away from Uni was a person, one knee against the ground. From what she could see of the person, the person was a boy. Another gust of wind blew by, a stronger one, picking Uni's side-updo pigtails and the rest of her hair, and at the same time, picking up the boy's lavender low-tie ponytail, held together by a dark purple and white striped hair tie.

"Phew… I made it." The boy stood up, revealing him to be slightly taller than Uni. The boy wore a white unzipped flight jacket, which had two pockets near the stomach area of the jacket. Above the jacket pocket was a N patch, stitched right above his heart. Underneath his jacket was white shirt and a purple scarf, secured around his neck. Uni caught a glimpse of what looked like a pudding pin on the collar of his jacket. "I messed up the landing, though…"

Sighing, the boy touched the pin, the decoration lighting up. He turned around, Uni following his gaze. The plane that passed by Uni slowly raised up into the air, flipped about and was engulfed in a dispersing cloud of data.

"I didn't want to land and roll…" The boy's soft, amethyst purple eyes made contact with Uni's red rubies. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." The boy shifted his body, revealing the rest of his outfit.

The boy wore bright white pants, which were tucked under a pair of vanilla boots with a silver soles and a white throat. Uni then noticed the light purple belt that held a rectangular device onto it.

That wasn't what caught Uni's attention.

Rather…

The two holsters strapped to his thighs, one of them brown and one of them white. The brown holster was triangular shaped, and Uni could see the handle of a white pistol sticking out from under the flap that kept it secured. The white holster was rectangular in shape, but Uni could still see the other white pistol handle sticking out of the holster, almost as if it didn't belong there.

"U-Um, excuse me? My eyes are up here…" Flustered red orbs connected with innocent purple stones once more, catching the D-pad hairclip on the purple stones' lavender hair.

"S-Sorry…" The boy smiled, reaching a hand out. Uni noticed the boy's long side-lock, the long strands of hair held up by his arm. The boy shook his head, his mouth never turning upside down.

"Oh it's fine!" The boy scratched his head, slowly leaning forwards. "I'm sorry for being late, I'm Nepgear." Oh, introductions? Alright, so this Nepgear guy has to be her partner. Alright, now to make a nice impression that he'll tell No- "You must be Uni, the CPU Candidate of Lastation. Right?" Nepgear straightened himself out, now scratching his cheek.

…

…

…

Oh.

So he knew of her… Nevermind then.

Crossing her arms, Uni narrowed her eyes. Nepgear, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"And how do you know about me?" Nepgear reached for the device on his belt.

"Well…" Pulling out the device, Nepgear put it close to his face. "Your sister told me somethings about you when she arrived…" The boy pressed the touch screen, his fingers gliding across the electronic device. "I took some notes on my N-Gear… Let's see…" Uni swallowed.

What kinds of things did Noire tell this guy about her?

"Ah, here we are." Nepgear peered closer at his N-Gear while Uni's heart began to beat a little faster, not because of what Nepgear was going to say nor his impression of her, mind you. "Lady Uni, CPU Candidate of Lastation and Noire's little sister. A hardworking girl who strives to be the best… and she loves guns." Nepgear put away his N-Gear and smiled at Uni. "Right?"

Uni blinked her eyes.

"Well, you're not wrong…" Sighing, Uni slumped her shoulders. That was all that Noire thought of her… Nothing detailed? Nothing special? Nothing at all…? Uni's day couldn't get worse than that… No, her life couldn't get any worse that.

"Um… Lady Uni?" Uni held up a hand, standing up straight.

"Just… call me Uni." Nepgear nodded tentatively.

"Alright, I hope we can get along." Uni looked to her side to see a gentle hand extended her way. Slapping it out of the way, Uni reached for her rifle, which was sitting on the ground nearby. She had placed on the railing next to her, but Nepgear's plane knocked over to the ground thanks to the wind it picked up.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with…" Uni walked on while Nepgear reached out for her, crouching down to dislodge the flaps of his holsters and ran after her.

Once he caught to Uni, Nepgear slowed down to a leisurely pace. The sea was blown around by the occasional winds, causing some small waves for roll around and harmlessly attack the maze-like pier they were on.

"So… um…" Before Nepgear could speak further, Uni held up a hand.

"We're here to do a Quest, not to hang out and be friends." Nepgear blinked.

"I'd like to be friends with Uni." Uni rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Uni stopped a stray Dogoo, bouncing it's way around. "Hmph. Found one." Quickly dropping to one knee, Uni stared down the scope of her rifle, eyes locked on her prey.

"Hey, it's a Dogoo!" Nepgear pointed at the jelly-dog monster. "Aw… it's so cute." Narrowing her eyes, Uni silenced Nepgear's adoration and fired. The Dogoo visibly flinched before spinning around in a daze, disappearing in a cloud of data. "Ah."

"One down, ninety-nine more to go." Standing up, Uni turned to Nepgear. "And you, keep your eyes on the objective, alright." Nepgear held his hands up in a surrender-like manner.

"R-Roger." With a huff, Uni walked on. "She's really mad today…"

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing!"

0 o 0

Uni and Nepgear skirted around WaveRunner Coast, sniping any monster that they could find. Well, Uni did. Nepgear didn't get a chance to even pull out one of his pistols.

After half an hour of searching, Uni and Nepgear, completely Uni though, were able dispatch twenty monsters.

"Argh! This is taking too long!" Uni put a hand on her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut.

"C-Calm down…" Nepgear held up his hands, but backed off when Uni glared at him.

"And why aren't you doing anything?! You're just standing there doing nothing!"

"Well, y-you keep killing them before I could do anything…" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Really…" The CPU Candidate crossed her arms. "Then why don't you go ahead and defeat as many monsters as I did then." Uni pulled up her Guild App. "Exactly twenty." Nepgear squeezed his lips shut, turning his eyes to the ground.

"Thirty, huh…" Uni grinned. There was no way a deadbeat like this guy could match up to a CPU Candidate like her. "Alright, I'll do it!"

"Wha-What?" Nepgear turned away from Uni, peering down the horizon.

"I'll try my best." The boy leaned forward, smiling when he saw a group of Dogoos, M-3s and Pixel Vaders on a parallel platform from where Uni and Nepgear were standing. "Alright, I'll go ahead and clear the area over there."

Uni couldn't help but smirk. This kid thinks that he can beat those monsters without her? This should be interesting.

"Well, we better find a way over there." Nepgear shook his head.

"No. You don't have to." Uni stared at him like he grew another head.

"There is no way someone can jump that far." The platform that the monsters were on, although parallel, was at least half a city block away. Sure, Uni could just transform and float over there, but Nepgear's just a kid. Like she said, there's no wa-

"Luckily, this is a dungeon without walls."

...Oh right, this a dungeon withou- Wait, what?

Walking to the center of the circular platform, Nepgear faced his destination and dropped to his hands and one knee. Nepgear smiled at Uni before sprinting with all his migh- Wow, he's actually pretty fast. But even with that speed, the momentum wouldn't be enough for Nepgear to clear the gap and he'll fall in the water.

Front flipping, Nepgear landed on his hands. Pushing against the momentum, Nepgear continued flipping towards the edge of the platform.

"Okay, now he has no momentum…" Uni shook her head, completely confused.

What was the point of doing that?

Nepgear, once he was close edge of the platform, quickly turned around. Bending his knees forward, Nepgear's pressed against the corner of the platform's railing.

"Alright, here… we…" Uni didn't want to look away, but she kinda wanted to see this guy fall into the water. At least something funny would happen… "..GO!"

Nepgear kicked off of the railing, legs and arms straight. As Uni expected, Nepgear only flew a few feet.

Wait, what was he doing?

Nepgear crossed his arms over chest and bending his knees forward, positioning his feet so that they were perpendicular to the water.

Thanks to her sharpshooter skills, Uni was able to see two deep red gems embedded into the soles of his boots. The gems began to glint a bright white, shrouding Nepgear in the same light.

"What is…" Suddenly, Nepgear zipped forward, creating two transparent white Nepgears that stayed in place while the actual one moved on. Before, Nepgear was near the platform that Uni was on and now he had zoomed to the edge of the opposite platform. The boy spread his arms out as the Nepgear copies vanished. "What the-!?" However as soon as Nepgear spread his arms out, his momentum almost completely vanished. With the remaining momentum that Nepgear carried, he would fall straight into the water.

Nepgear let out a loud grunt as two circular discs spread out from under his feet. The boy's body slammed against the railing, but his hand snapped onto the edge of the railing.

Uni sighed, not because she was relieved that he was safe. She kinda wanted to see Nepgear flop into the water. Speaking of whom, Nepgear turned toward Uni, giving her a thumbs up.

"A double-jump huh… not bad. Too flashy if you ask me." Uni crossed her arms and sat down, laying her gun across her lap, watching Nepgear hang over the water. "Go on, surprise me." Pulling out her U-ta, Uni opened up her Guild App and stared at the mission objective.

 **Enemies Defeated: 20/100**

Nepgear reached for his left pistol, tossing it into the air. Pulling himself over the edge of the railing, Nepgear pulled out the other pistol, pointing it at a Dogoo and M-3. Nepgear pulled the trigger and held it down. A small purple light began shining from the muzzle of the weapon. The pistol in the air began to fall down, but Nepgear kicked out his foot behind him, sending the airborne pistol towards the center of the platform. At the same time, the pistol in Nepgear's hand began to tremble, emitting an ear-annoying sound.

Eye twitching, Uni glanced up.

" _What is that_ … sound?" Uni watched Nepgear run towards the center of the platform. Nepgear pointed the shaking pistol, releasing the trigger. A fireball sized and shaped plasma bullet blasted towards the Dogoo and M-3, engulfing them and obliterating them, leaving them nothing but data.

The moment the two monsters were destroyed. Their companions and other loved ones turned to Nepgear, surprised, angered or shocked. The small mob of monsters rushed towards Nepgear. The boy jumped into the sky, catching the airborne pistol in his left hand. Twisting his body so that he was upside down in the air, Nepgear aimed at both pistols towards the platform's floor.

"Hmm…" Uni raised an eyebrow. "A plasma-type pistol…"

Nepgear fired a spread of bullets, some of the bullets purple and the others teal, towards the monsters, having bunched up at the center of the platform. Monster after monster shook, shuddered and fell under Nepgear's volley of bullets. The boy landed on the edge of the railing, holding both triggers down. The pistol in his right hand began to emit the purple light again, but the one is his left emitted a teal light.

Uni's eyes widened.

"Two plasma-types!? Are you kidding me?!" Uni glanced at the Guild App, not wanting to see him show off his weapons.

 **Enemies Defeated: 30/100**

"Hmph…" Uni shook her head and looked back up, not sure what to look at anymore.

Nepgear pressed his two pistols together, his arms shaking under the pressure built up in between both weapons.

"TAKE THIS!" Nepgear released the triggers and the two fireball blasts, shot out of the pistols. The projectiles blended together to create a giant purple and teal plasma bullet that careened towards the group of monsters. The pressure of the blasts sent Nepgear off of the edge of the platform. As the blast engulfed the monsters, Nepgear spun around and zoomed back to the platform where Uni was. When the monsters blew up and spread around the area, Nepgear double-jumped back onto the platform, landing in front of Uni.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Uni saw the Dogoos, the Pixel Vaders and the M-3s fly away and vanish into data. Nepgear pushed his pistols back into his holsters and smiled at his partner, who was still sitting down.

"Well, how'd I do?" Uni glanced at her U-ta.

 **Enemies Defeated: 40/100**

"Twenty exactly." Uni cocked an eyebrow and stood up, dusting her skirt and picking up her rifle. "I was wrong." Nepgear's smile grew slightly. Uni stepped backwards, narrowing her eyes. "D-Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complimenting you at all!" Uni turned around and walked on. "Come on, we've gotta find some more enemies to beat up."

"Roger!" Nepgear skipped up to Uni and walked alongside her.

0 o 0

Nepgear and Uni walked along WaveRunner Coast, searching the area thoroughly for isolated monsters. However, after half an hour of walking, both Uni and Nepgear were tired, drenched in sweat.

"Uni…" Nepgear placed his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

"Wh...What?" Uni slouched over, using her rifle to support her standing.

"I think… we should… take a break…" Uni sighed, this time in relief.

"Yeah… we should." Nepgear immediately dropped onto his rear while Uni slowly lowered herself to the floor.

Nepgear pulled himself against the railing, next to Uni. However, Uni turned away, pulling out her U-ta and opening the Guild App.

 **Enemies Defeated: 60/100**

"Hmm…" Uni put her U-ta away at the sound of liquid in a bottle slushing near her face. She looked up to see a Nep Bull U in front of her. "Huh? Where did…" Uni's gaze followed the arm that the hand was connected to, which was Nepgear, whose smile was just as inviting as before.

"Here, drink up! It'll restore your stamina and give you some confidence! …Although, I'm not sure about the confidence part." Uni took the beverage, confused.

"Where did you get this?" Nepgear reached under his jacket. Uni heard sound of something materializing and watched Nepgear pull out another Nep Bull U.

"I kept some cold drinks in my storage." Nepgear's smile turned bashful, scratching the back of his head. Uni raised an eyebrow, breaking the cap's seal and twisting the cap off.

"You're prepared." Nepgear nodded and opened his own drink, downing the health- and mana-restoring drink. Uni began to consume her drink, revitalizing her and feeling her strength return.

"Hehe, I made sure that there's at least one for you." Uni's face turned red for a second, but the Candidate coughed it away. Nepgear stared into his bottle. "Hey, Uni…"

"What?" Nepgear capped the bottle.

"Why did you wanna do this Quest?" Uni stared at Nepgear, whose smile was gone now.

"What are you talking about?" Nepgear zipped his eyes to Uni and then to the empty bottle, squeezing it tightly.

"U-Uh…" The boy slumped closer to the railing, pushing himself deeper into the corners over the railing. Uni raised an eyebrow as she watched his face and ears slowly turn a peachy color. "Well… y-you're taking the Quest with me… why?" Huffing, Uni capped her bottle and crossed her arms.

"Why? Because my sister put me up to this!" Nepgear put his wavering eyes on her.

"Your sister?" Uni nodded.

"Yeah, she thought that I wasn't good enough to handle this Quest on my own so she gave me you as a partner." Nepgear turned away for a second, eyes darting across the platform.

"W-Well, I think you're really great, Uni." Uni scoffed.

"Thanks, but that won't mean much to Noire." Nepgear let out a weak chuckle.

"At least your sister trusts you…" Uni's head snapped to Nepgear, who looked so small and fragile at the moment that she wanted to hug him. Shaking the thought out of her head, Uni raised and eyebrow.

"What?" Nepgear's smile returned, smaller and lonelier than what Uni remembered.

"I've always…" A deep inhale and exhale. "...wanted to make a friend." Nepgear gripped. the bottle harder, flattening the bottle's once round shape. "My sister doesn't want me to go outside of our home, saying it's too dangerous for me." Uni leaned back, surprised.

"Really?" Nepgear nodded, his head drooping low more.

"Yeah… I wanted to take this Quest because Quests are only one of two ways for me to get out, the other one being with my sister, which was always..." Nepgear turned up to stare at the sky, a cloud floating over them. "But this was the first Quest that my sister didn't go with me, and when I was told that I was going to be someone that was close to my age..." Nepgear's smile turned grim, his head bobbing back down to hang. "I was excited that I'd make a new friend...but I guess it's not that easy…"

Uni blinked her eyes.

Uni opened her mouth.

She blinked her eyes again.

She raised a finger and closed her mouth.

The CPU Candidate lowered her hand.

What was she supposed to say to this?

All Uni wanted to do was come here, beat up all the monsters that got in her way (which they weren't trying to, it was more like Uni was jumping them on the street) and go home.

But Nepgear…

He's different.

He's desperate.

He just wanted a friend…

Uni bit her lip.

Nepgear was always smiling, but… to think that he was so lonely on the inside. It's like he was wearing some sort of mask and he had hoped for something for so simple to happen… and Uni just stomped on it with her boot. Hard. Cold. And repeatedly.

She was the worst.

"I…" Uni stared at her lap, gripping her skirt, her knuckles slowly turning white. "...I could be your friend." Nepgear looked up, eyes wider than a curious child's.

"Huh?" Uni was sure that her ears were burning. She hoped that her hair was covering them.

"I said…!" Uni stood up, shouldering her rifle. "I could be your friend." The CPU Candidate glanced over her shoulders, startled when Nepgear was suddenly beside her. The boy's hands were clasped over each other, his eyes shining.

"Really?!" Uni stepped back, wondering how he got there so fast. Shaking her head and coughed into her fist, Uni turned away, crossing her arms.

"D-Don't get me wrong! It's not like I'm guilty of hurting you or anything!" Wow, she is Noire's sister, but Uni's pretty sure that Noire was rubbing off of her.

"What's there not to get?" Uni glances at Nepgear, his smile mesmerizing her. "You wanna be my friend!" Uni lowered her head. She hoped that the heat was coming from the sun.

"A-Anyways, we should finish this Quest."

"Mm!" Nepgear skipped ahead, causing Uni to blink his eyes.

"Skipping. Huh, that's a thing." Scratching the back of her head, Uni was glad Nepgear she saw Nepgear skip. "At least he's honest with himself…" Uni walked forward, catching up to Nepgear as the boy paused to wait for her and was currently waving.

0 o 0

"Uni, look over there!" Nepgear pointed to a platform that was about two platforms away from them. Uni quickly looked into the scope of her rifle and kneeled down, steadying her arm with her leg.

From where Nepgear pointed, Uni could see an array of Dogoos, M-3s and Pixel Vaders swarming and jumping around the platform.

"That's a lot of monsters." Uni put down her rifle and turned to Nepgear. "There's no way we could take care all them without getting surrounded." Uni bit on her fingernail. "...If there only we had someone who could do close quarter combat…" Sure Uni had some training, but it wasn't really that useful if her rifle held her down…

"Ah, CQC?" Uni nodded, turning to Nepgear.

"Yeah, why?" Nepgear suddenly threw a fist, twisting his body to do a sweeping kick. Placing his hands on the floor, Nepgear kicked his legs outwards and rolled forwards. Quickly spinning back forwards, Nepgear ran forwards a bit for jumping forwards, using the momentum to carry him forward while bending knees. Thrusting his legs out, Nepgear performed a dropkick before dropping onto the floor.

"How was that?" Picking himself off of the floor, Nepgear turned to surprised Uni. Blinking her eyes, Uni pursed her lips.

"I mean it's great that you know CQC, but I don't think hand to hand combat will be enough with just the two of us." Nepgear smiled and suddenly Uni felt that some of the pressure on her was gone.

"Do you want more range?" Uni watched Nepgear pull out the pistol from his right holster, raising an eyebrow.

"...Yeah?" Nepgear grabbed the muzzle of the gun, causing Uni to stand up and reach out to him. "W-What are you doing?! You'll damage the barrel!" Much to Uni's surprise, the gun obeyed Nepgear and followed his pull, turning into a tiny rod. "Wait… what?" Nepgear giggled, holding the rod up to his head, tapping one of the corners on his forehead.

"Cool, right?" Nepgear stepped back. "Wait, watch this." The boy held the rod up to his heart, purple energy beginning to build up at the tip. With all the force his arm could muster, Nepgear swung his arm out and the rod released a purple triangular energy blade. The blade was shrouded in a light lavender aura and let out a gentle hum.

"Wha-!" Uni closed her eyes, opened them, rubbing them and repeating the cycle twice. "That's a Buster-Saber?!" Nepgear grinned, spinning the weapon around in his hand.

"Neat, huh? I built it myself." Uni's mouth dared to dangle open, but she willed it shut.

"No way!" Nepgear nodded.

"Uh-huh, I call it the 'Gear-Saber'!" Nepgear winked. "In gun form, it's the 'Gear-Buster'." Uni's eyes were dull now, sighing.

"For how cool that was, that's a really lame name." Nepgear's face reflected that of a Pupgoo getting kicked in the goo.

"B-But… my sister named it…" Uni rolled her eyes.

"Still lame." Nepgear quickly clutched his collar, staring at the pudding pin.

"Th-Then, my Gear-Wing?" Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What-Wing?"

"M-my Ultra Universal Damage Diffuser Loweean Redesigned Light Roll Barrell Advanced Starfighter, my sister named it too..." Uni's eye twitched.

"Why does your sister have such lame names!?" Nepgear whimpered, turning off the Gear-Saber.

"Aw… I thought they were good names…" Uni huffed.

"Well, you built them, so you choose the names, I guess." The boy pulled out the other pistol, holding it up so that Uni could get a good look at it.

"My sister gave me this one…" Uni's pupils shrank. "She called it the-"

"THE N-BUSTER MK I?!" Uni swiped out of Nepgear's hand, causing his eyes to turn cat-like and his mouth to shape itself into a box without its bottom. "No way!" Uni dropped her rifle and began to fondle the pistol. "They're extremely rare!" Nepgear blinked, his face returning to normal.

"R-Really?" Uni whipped her head to Nepgear, her eyes wide and her pupils sparkling.

"Of course! There's like only three in the world!" Uni melted, nearly dropping to her knees. "Oh man… I can't believe that I get to hold a real one..." Nepgear scratched his cheek, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"Uh… Uni?" Uni paused, glancing at the boy.

"Yeah?"

"Can I…" Nepgear held out a hand. "...have my gun back? I kinda need it to fight." Uni turned to the pistol, shaking her head wildly.

"Ri-Right, sorry." Nepgear smiled as Uni handed the weapon back, allowing him to holster it.

"It's no problem." Nepgear turned to the horde of monsters, a small smile on his face. "So, should we finish this up and go home?" Uni picked up her gun, cocking it.

"Of course," Uni gestured to the boy with her head. "You take point," Uni then stared at the monsters. "I'll provide cover fire." Nepgear nodded, running ahead of her.

"Teyaaaaah!" Nepgear stomped his foot into the floor, launching himself into the air and somersaulting towards the monsters. Once Nepgear was a couple of feet in the air, Uni slid on the ground, firing rounds into the heart of the monsters.

"Take this!" One by one, monsters sank into data and the monsters' attention diverted to the girl.

Nepgear unfolded himself, raising his arms over his head. The boy thrusted his legs into a Dogoo and trampoline himself into the air, swinging downwards on an airborne M-3, cutting it in half. Kicking off of the remains of the robot, Nepgear tossed his Gear-Saber into the air and pulled out his N-Buster Mk I, holding down the trigger. The boy whipped around, kicking an attacking Dogoo with the heel of his boot before ducking to the ground as sniper shots pierced through some Pixel Vaders.

The boy turned to Uni, giving him a thumbs up. The CPU Candidate grinned through her scope as she watched Nepgear punch an M-3 into the ground and climbed on top of it, using the machine's instinct to rise up instantly to propel himself upwards.

A few more M-3s attempted to strike Nepgear down, but Uni's cover fire kept them at bay, allowing the boy to ascend to his saber. Uni continued to lock the monsters in as Nepgear caught his sword. Aiming the N-Buster downwards, Nepgear released the trigger, firing a large teal bullet that exploded into the heart of the monster horde, sending them far away. The monsters that flew close to Nepgear were cut down, allowing him a safe pathway to the ground.

Nepgear pulled out his N-Gear as Uni blasted any monsters that tried to ambush him, along with other monsters that were still in the air. Quickly opening his Guild App, Nepgear glanced to the side to catch a Dogoo throwing itself at him. Ducking and rolling away from the Dogoo, Nepgear thrusted his Gear-Saber into the jelly monster, not even giving the satisfaction of seeing its death as he was too engrossed in his N-Gear.

 **Enemies Defeated: 80/100**

Smiling, Nepgear cupped a hand over his mouth.

"Uni, just twenty more t0 go-" Uni blasted a Pixel Vader next to Nepgear. "I mean, nineteen more to g-" Now a Dogoo was blasted out of the sky from above the boy. "U-Uh, seventeen more t-" A M-3, passive, hovered next to Nepgear. "Oh hell-" It turned into data. "Wha- Uni!?"

Uni lowered her rifle.

"What? It was about to hurt you!" Nepgear glanced to where the monster used to be.

"It was just standing there an-" Nepgear's pupils shrank. "Uni behind you!" Nepgear put away his N-Gear and cut down a Pixel Vader.

"Huh?" Uni turned around to see a large black mechaniloid monster behind her. The obsidian black wings kept the robot afloat. Uni immediately aimed her weapon at the monster and fired at its head.

" _Contact!"_ The monster raised its claws, swiping the bullet out of the sky.

"Huh…" The monster reached for one of its wings. "That doesn't look good…" Uni got to her feet as the monster swung its wing towards her.

"UNI!" The girl closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She did feel an impact, but the one she expected. The sound of blades clashing and a struggling grunt. Uni opened her eyes.

"Nepgear!" The boy turned around to grin.

"You… okay?" Uni nodded, eyes wide.

"Y-Yeah…" Uni pointed to the side. "Nepgear, look out!" A sudden claw-arm grabbed Nepgear by the shoulder.

"Wha-!" The robotic monster lifted Nepgear effortlessly and swung him around, the boy tried to free himself by stabbing the monster's arm, but the metallic armor caused his energy blade to bounce off. Uni got to her feet as the monster thrusted it's arm out, releasing Nepgear and tossing him to a separate platform.

"Nepgear!" Uni held an arm as the boy's body got smaller and smaller. Before she could race over to check on her partner's safety, Uni had to duck out of the way of the monster's claw swipe and jump away from the oncoming monsters that survived Uni and Nepgear's assault.

Nepgear landed on the center of the platform, his Gear-Saber flying out of his hand as he bounced along the floor.

"Oof!" The boy rolled around for a bit, and slid to a stop. "Ah, you'd think…" Nepgear shakily rose to a sitting position. "That flying a plane…" Wrapping his arms around his stomach, Nepgear closed his eyes. "...would get rid of motion sickness…" Nepgear rolled to his side. "Auu…." The boy weakly glanced to his saber and then to the sound of bullets ricocheting off of metal.

"Why." Uni pulled the empty clip off of her rifle and ran to the side, dodging the monster's swipe. "Won't." The CPU Candidate tossed the empty clip at a Dogoo and grabbed her one of her extra clips. "You." Reloading the clip into her rifle, Uni picked off the Dogoo and jumped out of the way of the an incoming wing, which embedded itself into the floor. "Get." Turning to face the monster, Uni readied her gun and unloaded on the mechanical man-beast-whatever it was supposed to be called, Uni didn't care. "Hurt!?" The monster covered its face, blocking the bullets and thrusted its other arm at Uni. "Gah-!" The monster's clawed fist collided with Uni's body and sent her flying into the small mob of monsters that remained.

" **Contact!"** The monster pulled it's wing out and approached the small pile of monsters that covered the CPU Candidate.

0 o 0

The boy rose to his feet, only collapsing as soon as he applied pressure to his right knee. "Argh!" Dropping to his sides again, the boy wrapped his arms around the source of pain: the indentation where his knee was. "I think my knee's busted open…" Pulling himself to a sitting position and replacing the N-Buster, Nepgear pantingly dragged himself over to his Gear-Saber. "If only… Nep Bull U could… heal broken bones…" Grabbing onto the weapon, Nepgear pulled out his N-Gear and opened the Guild App.

 **Monster List**

Dogoo

Pixel Vader

M-3

 **Epsilon**

 **King Pac**

Nepgear quickly glanced to the top of the screen.

 **Enemies Defeated: 90/100**

"Only ten more…" Closing the app, Nepgear watched as the monster slowly approached Uni. "What kind of monster is that?" Shaking his head, Nepgear used his saber to stand up. "There's no way that thing is a Dogoo, Pixel Vader or an M-3… So, it has to be an Epsilon or King Pac…"

Now that Nepgear was far away from the monstrosity that caved his knee in, the boy was able to get a good look at it. The monster was robotic, but had a humanoid base. Two long blades were acted as the arms that Nepgear thought were claws.

"Wait, if those were blades…" Nepgear turned to his shoulder, where there was a hole just over his flesh, cutting through his jacket. "Wow… that was close." Turning back to the monster, the robot had sharp pointy legs and detached wings that were split in half, allowing said appendages to flap around and float through the air elegantly. The monster's armor was jet black, however the head was a light gray, which it protected from Uni's bullets before punching the girl into the pile of monsters behind her. Nepgear swore that he saw some black fabric fly off of Uni.

"No…!" Nepgear slowly shuffled to the center of the platform. "Gotta help Un-"

Suddenly, the area around Nepgear began to shaking, causing the boy to fall to stumble and fall onto his good knee. In between the two platforms, a large figure burst from the water.

" **PAAAAAAC!"** The monster landed on the floor, shaking the area. Nepgear looked up to see a giant purple shell with blue spikes standing before him. A pair of blue fins wearing silver shakes flapped on both sides of the shell. The shell leaned forward to reveal a head with large blue lips, a purple head, a large blue horn pointing downwards on the forehead and a head of fiery blue hair. A pair of black eyes glared at the injured boy. " **PAAAC…"**

Nepgear swallowed.

"Um…" Nepgear pointed at the monster attacking Uni. "I think that's Epsilon…" The boy then turned to the monster in front of him. "And that's…"

" **PAAAAAC!"**

"Oh… goodness."

0 o 0

The robotic monster, Epsilon, raised it's blade arm over the pile monsters.

" **Contact!"** A large pillar of light engulfed the pile of monsters and knocked Epsilon back a few feet. The remaining monsters that were flung into the air were suddenly shot out of the sky, vanishing into data.

The light died down to reveal a young girl around Uni's height. The girl wore a black sleeveless bodysuit with detached sleeves with gauntlets at her wrists. On her bodysuit was a large ring that adorned her chest, which was oddly smaller and a pair of small green lights. The girl wore boots that rose all the way to her thighs, the boots also had a smaller ring and one light on the toes of her shoes. Brushing her silver bangs to the side, the girl's side locks bounced along with her twin drills. Raising her other hand, carrying a large rifle the size of her body, the girl used her wings to carry her to Epsilon's eye level.

"EX Multi Blaster!" Epsilon raised its blades to block the spiraling green laser, blasting it to the edge of the platform. Lowering her weapon, Uni's emerald eyes glinted with the symbol of the Sharicite. "I have no hesitation." Uni, known as Black Sister in this form, furrowed her eyebrows and aimed at Epsilon. "I have only determination!"

"Uni, you look so cool!" Black Sister glanced to the side to see Nepgear leaning on the railing, waving over to her. The CPU Candidate was about to wave back when the King Pac behind Nepgear spun around as it dropped onto its shell

"Nepgear, behind you!" The boy looked behind him and used his shoes to dash out of the way, but Black Sister noticed Nepgear struggling to stand on his own feet. "Nep-"

" **Contact!"** Black Sister dove under Epsilon's arms and began to fly under it, firing as she flew by. However, none of her bullets scratched Epsilon's armor.

"Tch! There's no way I can hurt this thing." Epsilon crossed its arms and charged at Black Sister, but the girl used another EX Multi Blaster to knock it out of its attack. "I can at least knock it around…" Black Sister backed out of the way of another jab. "But that won't help at all!" Black Sister began aiming at the protected joints. " _If only I could break it somehow…"_

Meanwhile, Nepgear was limping away from King Pac's assault, rolling and dashing aside whenever the monster tried to dive or crush him. Turning his Gear-Saber back into the Gear-Buster, the boy began to shoot at the King Pac, but the bullets bounced off of the monster's shell.

"That's not good…" King Pac roared and spun onto its shell, hurtling towards the boy. "And that's worse!" Nepgear reactivated his Gear-Saber. "Slash Wa-" The boy swung his weapon in an upside down arc, striking the monster's shell. The momentum from King Pac's shell swiped up the blade, and Nepgear, and sent them across the platform. As he got to his good knee, Nepgear held his head. "Why did I think that was a good idea?"

"EX Multi Blaster!" Nepgear turned to see Epsilon just barely fall into the water below, his eyes widening as he watched where Epsilon was placing most of its arms.

"The head!" The boy watched Black Sister steady her weapon, energy building within. "With that amount of power, that Epsilon should go down!" Nepgear then glanced at the monster in question. Its armor was still shiny and unscathed. "But I bet that it could still take that hit…"

" **PAAAAAC!"** Nepgear turned around to see King Pac spinning at him. The boy's eyes sparkled as he looked from Black Sister and Epsilon to King Pac, who was getting dangerously close.

"This is a gambit… but…" Standing on his good leg, Nepgear readied his saber, trying his hardest to steady himself. As soon as King Pac was close to Nepgear, the boy kicked himself out of the way, ignoring the shocking pain sent through his body, and used his boots to dash behind the monster.

Bouncing off the railing, King Pac spurred towards Nepgear, his roar deafening. Nepgear took a deep breath and lunged at King Pac, slightly curving towards King Pac's side. The young boy struck the monster's shell, blasting him towards Black Sister's platform. Turning his Gear-Saber into it's Blaster form, Nepgear activated his boots to double jump and use his momentum to carry him closer to the platform. Holding down the trigger, Nepgear felt the energy building up within his pistol. Gritting his teeth, Nepgear activated his boots one more time to dash at Epsilon, who had raised his arm in retaliation to Black Sister's weapon charge.

"Teyaaaaaah!" Nepgear glanced at his Gear-Buster, now completely engulfed in a purple hue.

0 o 0

Black Sister flew over Epsilon's blades and fired at the monster's shoulder joints, but the armor that padded its arms dutifully rolled over the joints and blocked off the attack.

"Argh, this isn't getting anywhere!" Had Noire been here, she would have- No, Uni! Noire isn't here! You have to deal with this yourself, she trusts you!

" **Contact!"** Epsilon lunged at Black Sister with both its arms behind it.

"Oh no you don't! EX Multi Blaster!" Instinctively, Epsilon protected itself with its arms, causing to slide against the floor and nearly topple it over the railing.

Black Sister blinked.

"That's right!" Why hadn't she thought of this before? It was genius! "If I can't kill you…" Black Sister hefted her weapon up to her waist, holding down the trigger. "I'll burn you up with my XMB and send you into the ocean!" Reaching to the side of her weapon, Black Sister flipped a switch, causing the energy building inside to increase exponentially. "Limiter removed!"

" **Contact!"** Epsilon raised its arm and charged at Black Sister, but the girl held her ground, glaring straight into monster's head.

"It's you or me!" A bead of sweat rolled down Black Sister's cheek as she steadied her weapon. " _It's still not enough! If I only had more time…"_ No, Uni had to prove herself. If she couldn't take this monster down with this attack, then she let Noire, Lastation and all of Gamindustri down. Black Sister pointed the muzzle of the gun at the monster, which covered its head with its free arm again. Black Sister clicked her tongue. "Now or never! XMB-"

"Teyaaaah!" Startled, Black Sister looked to the side to see Nepgear darting towards Epsilon, his right hand engulfed in a purple light.

"Nepgear!" Black Sister had to refocus on steadying her weapon as Nepgear caught the attention of Epsilon, flying past its arms.

"TAKE THIS!" Nepgear swung his arm forward and punched the robotic menace with the purple ball of energy in his hand. "CHARGE SHOT: POINT BL-" An explosion cut off the boy as Epsilon staggered backwards, its arms dangling in the air while it's legs collapsed onto the ground. Nepgear, with the momentum he carried, flew through the explosion and towards the center of the platform, smoke emitting from his arm.

"Oh my god! Nepgear!" Wait! He just gave her a chance. Following Nepgear just for a bit to see where his body landed, Black Sister aimed her giant rifle at Epsilon's head. Taking a deep breath, Black Sister released the trigger and braced herself. "XMB: EMPRESS!" A large white laser blasted straight out of the her gun, blasting Epsilon and slowly eradicating the monster. Shifting the her gun up to her waist, Black Sister winked as the remains of Epsilon turned into data.

"Yaay… Great job… Uni…" Oh crap.

"Nepgear!" Black Sister dropped her weapon and flew over to Nepgear, who lay on the ground. "Are you o- Uh…" Black Sister got onto her knees and lifted Nepgear to a sitting position.

The boy was drenched with sweat, breathing heavily. Nepgear's right knee was caved in and the CPU Candidate winced for him. Head dangling, Nepgear attempted to smile, but his face contorted with pain, especially the right side of his face. Black Sister followed the smell of burnt clothing to find that Nepgear's Gear-Buster was broken, shattered from the point blank explosion while Nepgear's arm and jacket sleeve was slightly charred, his hand, slightly twitching, clutched onto the remains of the weapon.

"Yeah, you're definitely NOT okay…" With his healthier hand, Nepgear grabbed onto Black Sister's shoulder and pulled himself up slowly close to her ear. "He-Hey, save your strength! I'll get you out of here!"

"U-Uni…" Nepgear pressed his head against Black Sister's shoulder. "There's one…" The boy slipped off of the CPU Candidate's shoulder, but Black Sister caught him right before he nearly hit the ground.

"One what?" Nepgear painfully pointed across to the other platform.

"More…" Black Sister turned to the side as she saw a purple colored giant cannonball hurtling towards them. Wrapping her arms around Nepgear, Black Sister spread her wings and pulled her partner to safety as the purple ball crashed into the railing, shattering it.

"Whoa-!" Black Sister watched as the chips of the platform and blobs of water splashed over the floor. "What is wrong with that thing?" Nepgear grunted in the CPU Candidate's grasp.

"The shell is tough…" Nepgear winced as Black Sister pulled him up against the railing. "But his back is exposed…" Black Sister nodded.

"Don't worry, Nepgear. I'll find a way to knock it over." Nepgear shook his head.

"Let me do it." Black Sister furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are you nuts?!" Nepgear smiled.

"With this, maybe…" The boy weakly raised his N-Buster MK I. "I can do something with this…" Black Sister shook her head.

"Last time I checked, which wasn't long ago, your knee is broken and your arm is burnt! What are you going to do with just the N-Buster!?" Nepgear leaned forward, already holding down the trigger.

"Get you an opening." Black Sister grabbed her head, whipping her head from Nepgear to the broken piece of railing and back.

"N-No! Just gimme some time an- and I'll think of something…" The platform rumbled and Black Sister frantically summoned her weapon and turned around.

"Time's up." Black Sister bit her lip, hearing the hum of the buster charging behind her.

The waves began to rise up and down from where the monster had fallen in. Bubbles frothed with reach wave that splashed onto the platform.

Black Sister felt beads of sweat roll down her face with each passing second. A growl of frustration erupted from her throat as she turned to Nepgear.

"Fine! Do what you want!" Nepgear forced a smile.

"Okay, let's do this Uni!" Black Sister gazed at the broken Gear-Buster in his hand, and swallowed.

"Yeah…"

O o O

King Pac burst out of the water, landing on the platform and shaking the entire foundation. Exhaling tons of water, the monster used its beady eyes to scan the area, finding a purple haired figure leaning on the railing, with a teal glow to his side.

" **PAAAAAC!"** King Pac twirled onto its shell and darted towards Nepgear. The boy, shaking his head, raising his good arm. The N-Buster vibrating with energy.

"...See ya later…" Tilting his wrist slightly down, Nepgear released the trigger and fired the blast of energy, creating a large hole in between him and the monster. "...Spiky-haired… turtle… monster… thing." King Pac dropped into the hole, but its spiky shell prevented it from dropping into the hole completely.

" **Pac?"** The monster wriggled its body, causing it to sink deeper and deeper into the hole. Nepgear looked up to the sky, laying his arm on the floor.

"UNI NOW!" Black Sister dropped from the sky, pressing the muzzle of her gun against King Pac's unprotected and fleshy back.

"Take this! EX Multi Blaster!" Black Sister released the beam of energy, peircing through King Pac's fleshy skin and breaking through its shell.

" **PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC…."** Black Sister jumped away as the monster slipped through the hole in the floor, data fragments vanishing as it fell.

Black Sister landed in front of Nepgear, placing her rifle on the ground and leaning on it. With a sigh of relief, the CPU Candidate held out her U-ta and glanced at the screen.

 **Mission Complete.**

Black Sister shifted her hand through her bangs, pride bubbling through her body.

"And that's how you do it!" Nepgear grinned, attempting to hold his trembling.

"That was amazing, Uni!" Black Sister was engulfed in a bright light as she turned around. When Uni stood above Nepgear, the boy blinked his eyes.

"Well, what do expect from Lastation's CPU Candidate!" Uni raised an eyebrow at Nepgear's silent gaze. "What?"

"Uni, what happened to your dress?" Confused, the girl looked down. Ruby eyes widened as her face turned to the color of her own eyes.

"Ah… Ah…" Nepgear tilted his head as Uni trembled. "Eeeeek!" The CPU Candidate dropped to her knees and used the remains of her dress to cover herself up. "Don't look!" Startled, Nepgear timidly stared at his broken leg.

"I thought your dress wasn't split down the middle." Uni couched closer, leaning over her lap.

"It wasn't! How did…" The CPU Candidate gasped. "That robot! It must've cut my dress when it punched me!" Uni groaned.

Nepgear scratched his cheek. Glancing at the pudding pin on his collar, the boy tapped it for a bit and looked around.

"Hm… I guess I didn't calibrate it correctly. Oh well." Uni heard the sounds of clothes shuffling and felt something drape over her back. "Here."

Uni slowly lifted her head to find Nepgear's jacket draped around her jacket. Staring hard at the floor, the CPU Candidate zipped up the jacket, slightly conscious of the warmth that permeated it.

"...Thanks." Uni glanced up to see Nepgear as his scarf blew in the wind along with his hair.

"No problem." Nepgear attempted to stand up, but Uni caught him as he fell to the floor. "Ah…"

"What are you doing!?" Nepgear wearily looked up.

"My Gear-Wing isn't responding… I thought it might be at the dungeon entrance." Rolling her eyes, Uni wrapped one of Nepgear's arms around her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Uni stood up and lifted the boy into a piggyback. "U-Uni!" The girl scoffed.

"Huh, you're lighter than you look." Nepgear leaned against Uni when the girl wouldn't let him down. "Stop moving, I'll take you to the entrance."

"Thank you…" Uni grinned.

"No problem." The CPU Candidate glanced at the burnt hand and shook her head. "Nepgear…"

"Hm?" Uni walked along the piers, glancing down and listening to the tide against the foundation of the dungeon.

"Sorry… about your hand and your knee." Uni heard him chuckle.

"It's fine, it was my choice to have these injuries." The CPU Candidate lowered her head.

"Yeah, but… If I was stronger…"

"I wouldn't have met you." Uni looked behind her to see Nepgear's comforting smile. "And we wouldn't be friends." The girl looked forward, watching the sun shine in the sky.

"...Yeah." Maybe Uni was glad that Noire got Nepgear as a partner. After all, he was reliable for a Maker… "Let's get out of here."

"Sure!"

O o O

When Uni carried Nepgear to the entrance of WaveRunner Coast, Black Heart and Purple Heart stood there.

"N-Noire!" Black Heart smirked.

"Uni. Good job." She did it! Noire complimented her! YES! Her sister said she did a good job!

Purple Heart walked over to Uni and patted Nepgear on the head. Uni bit her cheek as she felt Nepgear nuzzling against Purple Heart's hand.

"You did great Nepgear." The CPU of Planeptune picked up Nepgear and held him like a princess.

"Hehe… thank you, sis." She did it, Uni was good! Uni was- Wait, what?

"Sis?" Uni spun around, eyes widened. "She's your sister?!" Nepgear blinked as Purple Heart looked at him.

"You did introduce yourself completely, right?" Nepgear's mouth opened a little bit.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Nepgear turned to Uni, smiling. "Sorry about that Uni. I'm Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune." Uni clenched her fists, and shook her head.

This guy, was a CPU CANDIDATE?! And he had the nerve keep this a secret from her! Was it because he thought that Uni wasn't good enough to know that… It was… He didn't trust her! Just like Noire did yesterday!

"You… You…" Uni took off Nepgear's jacket and threw it at him, transforming into Black Sister. "You!" Nepgear freed his face and looked at her worriedly.

"Me?" Black Sister pointed at him, finger shaking.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Nepgear's bottom lip quivered.

"Uh… I forgot."

"You forgot!" Nepgear raised his healthy hand.

"Bu-But we're friends right!" Black Sister smacked his hand away.

"No! Not anymore!" Black Heart and Purple Heart silently watched as Nepgear whimpered.

"Uni, you shouldn't act so harshly for not knowing that Nepgear was a CPU Candidate." Black Sister glared at the upset CPU Candidate. How dare he! Now Noire was scolding her! After she worked so hard to get that compliment! If only she could get back at him for embarrassing her like that! Like beating him in a duel… Well, she could probably challenge him and- That's it!

Suddenly, the girl blinked, lowering her arms and turned around.

"Hmph, we're aren't friends." Nepgear began to tear up. "We're rivals!" Nepgear blinked back the tears.

"R-*sniff*-Rivals?" Black Sister nodded.

"Just like our sisters, you and I are rivals!" Black Sister crossed her arms. "And I will show you that Lastation is better!"

"Uni…" Black Heart turned to Purple Heart, giving her an apologetic look. The CPU just shrugged.

"In three weeks, you come to Lastation and we'll have a duel!" This was the perfect plan! Not only would she be able to show Noire that she was good enough to do things on her own, but she'd shove that embarrassment that Nepgear gave her down his throat. Two birds with one stone. It's brilliant.

Before Nepgear could say anything, Black Sister flew away for Lastation.

"I'm sorry about that, Neptune. Nepgear. She really isn't like this…"

"It's fine, Noire. I should take Nepgear home before-"

Alright, now all Uni had to do was prepare the challenges and beat Nepgear with her own hands. After this, Noire had to trust her. She had to.

But what could she prepare…?

Who cares, once she was done with Nepgear. She won't ever have to see his dumb face ever again. Yeah… right?

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 0 (Hate)**


	3. Duel! Uni vs Nepgear?

Chapter 3: Duel! Uni vs. Nepgear?

* * *

"Late…" Uni crossed her arms and closed her eyes. The rough winds blew by as she stood outside on the balcony that led to the CPUs' living quarters. Tapping her foot at a brisk pace, the CPU Candidate of Lastation scratched her head before beginning to walk around in circles. "I know I told them three weeks from then…" Uni stopped walking and grabbed her hair. "Wait, what if they forgot?!" The CPU Candidate's breath began hitched her head darted left and right, glancing at the musky, cloudy sky. "Ugh… where are they?!" Pulling her hand through her hair one last time, Uni shook her head and sighed. "I guess they're not coming…"

Uni pursed her lips and glanced at the polished obsidian floor, kicking a red tile and ignoring its brothers that surrounded her. Turning around, the CPU Candidate of Lastation trudged back into the Basilicomm…

As she was about to step inside, the girl whipped her head towards the sky. There was a fire in her ruby orbs and her raised a vengeful fist up to the heavens.

"Nepgear! You'll pay for forgetting!" Uni dropped her fist and closed her her eyes, lowering head. "Get over here!" However, the not actually divine beings in the sky that are actually planes gave the girl no response.

Wait, did she just yell at Nepgear to come at her? Uni released her grip and let her hands hang against her waist. She did.

…

…

…

Well, it's a good thing that there wasn't anyone around to hear her say th-

"Uni-chan, we're here!" ...Really. A bead of sweat rolled down Uni's face as she glanced up, a bigger starting to form.

High above Uni's head, Purple Heart floated above the CPU Candidate, carrying her little brother in her arms, princess-style. Uni watched with blank eyes as Purple Heart gracefully touched the ground, tightly grasping onto Nepgear. Eyes shining, Nepgear pulled away from Purple Heart and ran over to Uni.

"Hi, Uni!" Scoffing, Uni crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hey, Nepgear! You're late!" Nepgear heels skidded against the floor as the boy scratched the back of his head, his cheeks slightly turning red.

"S-Sorry, I would have gotten here sooner, but I was kinda caught up in repairing the Gear-Wing." Uni blinked her eyes.

"Repairing?" Nepgear nodded, letting out a small chuckle. From behind the other CPU Candidate, Uni saw a flash of light.

"Yeah, turns out that the Gear-Wing's teleportation mod hasn't been completely calibrated, so-" Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Nepgear's shoulders and the boy suddenly lurched forward. Uni stepped back to see another, smaller, purple-haired body cling itself to Nepgear's back. "-Oof!"

"Nep Jr.'s super awesome plane came back all topsy turvy and landed like a turtle!" Purple Heart's Human Form, Neptune, grinned at Uni. "Cept' it wasn't a turtle and blew up like one of those robot boss dudes in Blanc's old games!" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"...What?" Nepgear straightened his back, leaving Neptune to amuse herself by hanging onto her younger brother.

"When sis took me back home, the Gear-Wing was basically blown to smithereens… along with most of my inventions…" Wait, he actually sniffled?! Uni glanced to the side. She thought that guys didn't have any other emotions besides anger… and being stoic… and being prideful… and smugness… Okay, that's a lot. No wait, Nepgear was pretty emotional back when they first met. Huh. Guess Nepgear's a special kind of guy. "Um, Uni?"

"Wh- Yeah?"

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Nepgear blinked his eyes innocently as Neptune pulled herself high enough so that she could rest her head on her brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're lookin like you're a gal who hasn't seen her first cosplay convention yet." Again, what? Seriously, what is Neptune talking about? Wait…

Uni uncrossed her arms and stared at her feet.

Wasn't there something she had to d- THE DUEL!

"H-Hold on!" Uni pointed her finger straight at Nepgear, who leaned back far enough so that Neptune could make him lose his balance.

"D-Duel?" Uni narrowed her eyes.

"Yes! That's why I asked you to come here in the first place!" The CPU Candidate of Lastation could practically feel the veins in her forehead jumping up and down. All those weeks that Uni spent preparing the trials that they would combat in, and Nepgear wasn't even prepared for it?! Just her luck…

"Uh, Um…" Nepgear pried himself free of his sister's grasped and helped himself to a standing position. "S-Sorry," Nepgear bowed low, his ponytail nearly touching the ground. "I-I was too excited, thinking that we were going to hang out…" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"When did I ever say that?" Nepgear straightened his back. The boy began to play with one of his sidelocks.

"I… Uh…" Uni put her hands on her hips, whipping her head to the side to throw her hair out of the way.

"Now listen here." Nepgear nodded his head as Neptune helped herself up by pulling on Nepgear's jacket. "We're not friends. We're not buddies. And we're definitely not best friends." Nepgear was about sniffle when Uni prodded his chest with a finger. "You. Are. My. Rival." Uni then pointed a thumb at herself. "And I'm yours. Got that?"

Nepgear nodded dumbly.

"Uni, there you are." Uni turned around to see her older sister walk out onto the balcony. Once Noire was in sight, Neptune's eyes sparkled.

"Noire? I thought you had work to do." Noire made a wavy smirk and crossed her arms.

"W-well, even I have to take a break sometimes." Neptune's mouth curved to make a feline-esque face.

"Aw~ Don't be like that Noire, I know you missed me." Noire's face turned three shades of red as Neptune pounced on her, hanging onto her like she did to Nepgear.

"Wh-Wh-Hey, get off me!" The CPU Candidates watched their older sisters, following them with their eyes as Noire stumbled around the balcony as she tried to pry Neptune off of her. While Nepgear looked on with a childlike curiosity, Uni was thunderstruck. As far as she could remember, Noire had always gone on and on about how she was rivals with Neptune and how they would fight all the time. But look at them! It's like they're an old married couple or something.

Sighing, Uni grabbed Nepgear by the collar of his jacket and dragged him inside.

"U-Uni?" Dragging her rival through the living room, Uni didn't even glance back at him as she climbed up a flight of stairs.

"What?"

"O-Our sisters…" Uni shrugged her shoulders as she pulled Nepgear into a small hallway.

"Noire knows where we're going to be. It's fine." Stopping at a door near the end of the hallway, Uni pulled out a key from her skirt pocket, unlocked the door, and opened it. "Come on in." Releasing her rival, Uni walked inside, leaving Nepgear to peek in through the doorway.

"P-Pardon the intru-Whoooooa!" Nepgear's eyes shined upon seeing the contents of Uni's room.

Uni's room was shaped like a pentagon with a flower and stem patterned rug on the floor. The same pattern permeated throughout the dome shaped ceiling. Uni had a simple white bed with a flower patterned blanket and frilled pillow. Her bed was next to a window, whose dark purple curtains were pulled back to reveal the Lastation horizon. Nearby her bed was a black dresser with golden handles. On top of the dresser was a white treasure box, a red perfume bottle, a spiky golden trophy, and a blue box. Above the dresser itself were two automatic rifles hung against the wall, clean and well maintained. On the other side of Uni's bed were two painting sized mirrors. Underneath the mirror that was furthest from her bed was a round table with a blue cloth on it. On the table was a small white box, a small cow bell and a white picture frame of her and Noire. Next to the table was Uni's bookshelf, filled with novels, gun catalogs, a handful of recipes and a hidden photo album that Uni was too embarrassed to show to other people. On the side of the bookshelf was a makeup table covered various necessities for a girl to keep her skin young and beautiful, although Uni kept them there just for decor. Most of the time. Finally, there was one more window with matching curtains across from Uni's bed, with a maroon couch and leg rest in front of it.

"Don't just stand there," From Nepgear's right, Uni opened a closet that was out of the Planeptune Candidate's field of view. "Help me set this up." Uni pulled out Lastation's newest Console, the Lastation 4, the cords needed to hook it up to a T.V., a couple of controllers, and a small wooden table.

"O-Okay." Nepgear hesitantly dragged the table to the center of the room while Uni hooked up the console to the flat screen T.V. that was the left of her door. Luckily for Uni, the door opened to the right. Once Nepgear had set the table, Neptune and Noire entered the room, carrying snacks and drinks.

"Ah, Neptune!" Nepgear waved at his sister as Neptune slipped under the table, opening a bag of lightly salted chips and chowing down.

"Heya, Nep Jr.! Got some snacks." Neptune munched on a handful of chips as Uni crawled over to the table, shoving a controller into his hands. Noire reached over to the bag and plucked a chip from Neptune's wrath, only for her to end the poor snack's fate with her own set of teeth and two lips.

"So you're going to do this challenge first, Uni?" Noire's little sister nodded and prodded Nepgear with a finger.

"Okay, so we're going to play Gureilla Arms Race: Intermediate War. Deathmatch. First to twenty-five kills wins." Nepgear held the controller in his hands, sheepishly holding in between his fingers.

"You better bring your A-game, Nepgear!"

"Okay, I'll do my best!" Uni raised an eyebrow, glancing over as she started up the game. A smirk found it's way to her face.

"Alright, let's go!" Uni pressed her thumb against the start button, her grin slowly fading away.

ↀ **Д** **ↀ**

A gruff adult male wandered through an empty shipping container yard, scanning the dusty multicolored containers one at a time. The male was covered head to toe in military camouflage, wearing a couple of tree branches on his helmet. Over his head was the words " _Ge-Ge"_ as he continuously searched the area.

Putting his rifle away, the Ge-Ge pulled out a pistol and began rushing down the passageway created by two containers. Jumping into a bush, Ge-Ge peeked his head out, pistol trembling in his hands. Breathing in and out heavily, the man stood up and quickly scanned the area. Unbeknownst to him, a grenade flew over his head and landed behind him.

Noticing the grenade danger symbol behind him, the man gasped and attempted to run away, jerking left and right. However, the grenade blew up right behind him, sending him flying towards the passage away again.

" **Game over."**

ↀ **Д** **ↀ**

"Ah!" Nepgear stared at the scoreboard, amazed. Uni had scored twenty-five kills in a matter of minutes, and Nepgear couldn't even find her once. "Wow, you're amazing Uni!" Uni scratched the back of her head, sighing in disappointment.

"Y-Yeah…" Uni wasn't even trying that hard. In fact, Nepgear killed himself by tossing a grenade awkwardly, letting bounce on the floor and landing on his feet. At the same time, Uni noticed that whenever Nepgear fired his guns, he would squeeze his eyes shut and swing his camera around. "...You too."

Well, this was a win to some extent. Uni, one. Nepgear, zero.

Neptune stretched her arms, lying on the table.

"I'm hungry…" Noire raised an eyebrow.

"You just ate a bag of chips." Neptune's cat grin returned, sliding towards Noire.

"Aw, don't suck up the Strict-sty Histy juice now!" Neptune slipped off the table, landing on Noire's knee. Startled, Noire stuttered endlessly while Neptune wormed her way onto her lap. "Now let's get some grub!" Uni stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"I'll make lunch!" Uni pointed at Nepgear. "And you'll be my competitor!" A comedic drop of sweat rolled down Nepgear's head.

"Y0- You mean partner, right?" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Did you already forget why you were here?" Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"To… hang out?" Uni facepalmed.

"No! We're rivals! Get it through your thick skull already!" Grabbing Nepgear's collar, Uni pulled the young boy out -of the room. "Noire, you just hang tight. Neptune-san, what would you like to eat!" Neptune held her hand high in the air, swinging it like a metronome.

"Pudding~!" Uni nodded.

"Curry it is then!" Neptune sat up.

"Eh?" Uni dragged Nepgear out of her room. Neptune turned to Noire, question marks bouncing over her head. "Eh?" Noire shrugged her shoulders and grabbed one of the controllers.

"Bet I can kick your ass faster than Uni did." A twinkle appeared in Neptune's eye, eventually shining like a star.

"You're on, sister!" Uni listened to her sister fire up her rivalry as she dragged Nepgear down the hall. Glancing at her own rival, the girl narrowed her eyes when she saw Nepgear humming to himself.

" _How can he be so happy?!"_ Uni bit her lip, eyes furrowing as they swerved around with each of her thoughts. " _But… Come to think of it, Noire and Neptune are rivals too. Yet, the two of them seem more like friends than bitter rivals…"_ Uni paused, nearly dropping Nepgear. " _Hm. I thought rivals were two people who hated each other…"_ Uni tightened her grip on Nepgear's collar, raising her head as her eyes emitted fire. " _But I can't back down now! I have to show Noire that I can do what she does too!"_

ↀ **Д** **ↀ**

Uni brought Nepgear into the kitchen. The Lastation CPUs' kitchen was modestly sized, being large enough to give both of the Candidates plenty of room to walk around. The entire kitchen layout was comprised of two L-shaped counters, which were positioned to imitate a yin yang symbol, leaving space open for two doors on opposite side of the room. Near one of the doors was the refrigerator, and on the counter next to the fridge was the stove. There was an oven down the bend of the counter, large enough for roasts, turkeys, cakes, cookies and other types of delicious meats and treats to bake. On the other counter was the sink and the dishwasher, with plenty of room to prepare for dishes. There were drawers under the counters and cabinets hanging over the counters, while there was a window next to the stove.

Uni walked through the door next to the fridge and let go of Nepgear, opening the fridge and searching for ingredients. Nepgear readjusted his collar and began to massage his right arm.

"So… what are we making again?" Uni shifted through the fridge, not once looking back at Nepgear.

"Curry." Nodding his head, Nepgear looked around the kitchen.

"Where are the aprons?" Uni pulled out a bag of beef from the fridge.

"In the drawer next to the stove." The moment the girl poked her head out of the fridge, Uni found Nepgear wearing a dark blue apron, while he was pulling all of his hair back into his ponytail. Uni placed the meat down to see Nepgear immediately glancing around. "Wh-What do you want now?" Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ah, I was wondering where the ingredients and pots and pans are." Uni put her hands on her hips.

"I'll get them, just sit there." Nepgear smiled and opened a drawer. "H-Hey! What did I just tell you?" A bead of sweat rolled down Nepgear's head.

"Ah… I was looking for a knife to use." Letting a frustrated grunt, Uni opened the drawer next to Nepgear and handed him a chef's knife. "Ah, thank you." Rolling her eyes, Uni opened up the cabinet containing the vegetables. "We're going to need two potatoes, two carrots, an onion, some cooking oil and curry powder, some garlic…" Nepgear began to list off more ingredients as the words began to circle the girl's mind.

"O-Okay, okay! Hold on a minute!" Uni rushed to get everything together while Nepgear began to prepare whatever he needed in order to cook. As she grabbed the rice, Uni froze and whipped her head to Nepgear, who was slowly and methodically cutting the meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions into bite-sized pieces. "W-Wait a second!" Uni pointed at him.

"Ah, Uni. Could you heat up the pot for me real quick?" Uni pulled the pot out of the cabinet and turned on one of the stove. "Thank you."

"Sure." Uni coughed into her hand. "We're supposed to be rivals." Nepgear nodded his head.

"Yes. Yes. Uni, could you start preparing the pot while I finish preparing the meat and vegetables?" Nepgear grabbed a pan and placed it on the one of the other stoves. Shifting the pan to his left hand, Nepear moved the ingredients he was cutting onto the stove after placing some oil on it and sauted them.

"Ah, okay." Uni began to prepare the soup when she froze in place. Nepgear turned to the side, confused.

"Is there something wrong?" Uni, exasperated, pointed to the pot and pan while her other hand twitched.

"Why are we working together?! We're rivals, so why aren't we making our own curry to compete against each other?" Nepgear blinked twice.

"But there would be too much for the four of us to eat." A drop of sweat rolled down Uni's face.

"Ye-Yeah, you'd be right about that…" Nepgear smiled, his right arm shaking while trying to hold the knife still.

"Isn't more fun to cook together, instead of cooking alone?" Sighing, Uni scratched her cheek.

"E-Even if you say that…" Suddenly, the young man turned back to the pan.

"Ah! Sorry, Uni. I have to keep an eye on this!" Nepgear began to awkwardly move the meat and vegetables with the spatula in his right hand. Uni bit her lip and returned to preparing the soup, staring at her rippling reflection in the red liquid.

" _That Nepgear… He's not taking this rivalry seriously…"_ Glancing over to her rival, Uni narrowed her eyes before seeing him working hard. " _Yet, why do I feel like I lost?"_ Shaking her head, Uni decided that she'd mark this as a loss. Not because she was feeling bad about making Nepgear go through all this, but because she legitimately felt like Nepgear beat her in this part of the duel.

Nepgear dipped a ladle into the soup and poured some of it onto a taste testing plate. Sipping up the soup, Nepgear smiled as his face brightened up. If Uni squinted, she could see flowers floating around the young man's head.

"...I might have lost in girl power too…"

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing, just hurry up and cook!"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

"Thanks for the food!" Neptune clapped her hands together and began to dig into her large portion of curry rice. Noire raised an eyebrow at Neptune's table manners. Rolling her eyes, Noire began to eat as well. Negear was happily eating his portion of the food they made while Uni sat there, shifting a spoonful of rice from side to side. "Uni, not hungry?" Uni stared at Nepgear's older sister, who had some curry and rice around her mouth.

"I'll eat it." There was no way that Uni wouldn't eat. Curry was her favorite. Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"Sis, you want another serving?" Neptune shoved her plate towards Nepgear, already clean.

"Another serving please~!" Nodding, a smiling Nepgear grabbed Neptune's plate and refilled it. Uni noticed that Nepgear added more rice and more curry than last time. "Alright, thanks Nep Jr.!" Nepgear let out a small chuckle.

"I swear if I didn't know you, I'd think that Nepgear was the older sibling." Noire retorted as Neptune shoved a large spoonful of rice into her mouth.

"Mhuh wur yu tukrm fut?" Beads of sweat rolled down everyone's head except for Neptune's.

"Neptune, you shouldn't talk with food in your mouth…" Neptune blinked and grinned at her younger brother, swallowing.

"Ah, sorry Nep Jr." Turning towards Noire, Neptune leaned towards her. "Hey, hey, hey. Nowa-"

"Don't call me that!"

"Nowa." Noire sighed in frustration. "You wanna play some games?" The CPU of Lastation gave the other CPU a deadpan stare.

"We just played earlier." Neptune returned the stare with an innocent smile.

"Well, we can play something else?" Noire continued her stare. The bead on Uni's face continued to roll down while Nepgear seemed to worry about Neptune.

"S-Sis…" Ignoring her brother, Neptune stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"Don't cha worry your adorable little head, Nepgear." Spoon still in her mouth, Neptune pointed at Noire. "Lonely Heart is just a busy body who has no friends!"

Noire stood up, shoving her chair back. Her mouth was wide up and her eyes followed suit. Suddenly, the CPU clenched her teeth and glared at Neptune.

"What do you mean I have friends?!" Noire crossed her arms. "I _do_ to have friends!" Neptune cocked an eyebrow.

"Ooh~?" Neptune hummed with a singsong voice. "Name one." Another bead of sweat, slightly bigger than the last one, rolled down Noire's reddening cheek.

"W-Well, y-yo-" Noire glanced at Uni with a pleading look. Uni's eyes widened.

" _No way, could it be? Noire needs me?!"_ The CPU Candidate of Lastation stood up and opened her mouth. Suddenly, Neptune stood in front of Uni, blocking Noire's and Uni's perspectives of each other.

"Hey, 'Little Noire' doesn't count." Although Uni was a little bit flattered, Uni glared at Neptune.

"Hey!" Grinning, Neptune mischievously watches Noire stutter. As Noire's face turned from pink to deep red, the Lastation CPU suddenly grabbed Neptune by the hood and dragged her away. "N-Noire, where are you going?" Noire stopped in front the doorway as she whipped around to look at her sister.

"Neptune and I are going to have a talk!" Currently, Neptune was struggling to break free with her spoon stuck in her mouth. Noire yanked the spoon out of her mouth in ann oyance and chucked it back at the table. Uni watched the spoon bounce on the table and see a hand catch it mid bounce. Following the arm, Uni narrowed her eyes as Nepgear pushed the spoon into the tenth of Neptune's leftovers.

"W-Wait, Noire! My seconds and thirds!" Ignoring Neptune's pleas, Noire continued to drag the CPU further into the depths of Lastation's Basilicomm. "NEPUUUUUUUU!"

A droplet of sweat rolled down Nepgear's face as he chuckled awkwardly.

"Sorry about Neptune, she's always like that." The young man then noticed that Uni was glaring at him. "U-Uh, did I say something?" Uni continued her glare.

"You do know that we're still having a duel." Nepgear blinked his eyes.

"Ah. ...Right." As Uni continued to glare, Nepgear's kept bouncing from his plate, to the curry that was still left out on the table. Glancing at her own empty plate and then to Nepgear, the CPU Candidate sighed and held her plate out.

"Just give me seconds first." Nepgear lit up and took her plate.

"Right away." The Lastation CPU Candidate put her chin on her arm, resting the latter on the table.

" _This doesn't feel like a rivalry at all…"_

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Once they finished eating, Uni and Nepgear walked into the elevator. This time, Uni didn't drag her rival inside either. Instead, Uni pushed a button and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.

"Uh, Uni? Where are w-" Uni held up a hand, silencing the young man.

" _Seriously, why doesn't Nepgear understand the meaning of the word 'rival'?"_ Uni shook her head while Nepgear tentatively stood to the side, looking around. " _I mean, it's as obvious as it can be."_ Uni quickly glanced at Nepgear, causing the young man to step back in surprise and hit the soft dark blue walls. " _But, why isn't our rivalry kicking off like it should? I've told him straight that we're rivals,"_ Uni furrowed her eyebrows. " _But he still wants to be_ _ **friends**_ _, I just don't get it!"_ The CPU of Lastation looked up when the light above the elevator door showed a number that matched the button she pushed. " _I'll show him here, once for all."_ The door opened and Uni gestured for Nepgear to walk in first. " _That we're rivals."_

Uni walked out of the elevator to reveal that the Candidates have walked into a massive room. The room was completely empty aside from the platform that Uni and Nepgear were on. The walls, floor and ceiling was covered in a dark blue wallpaper that had lines that made a grid. On the platform in front of Uni and Nepgear was a holographic panel.

"Whoaaaaaaa! Where are we?" Scoffing, Uni smirked and crossed her arms.

"This is the LSF." Nepgear tilted his head to the side, a question mark popping up and landing on his head, tilting as well. "Right, the Lastation Simulation Room, or LSF for short." Nepgear shaped his mouth like a circle. "Yeah, anyways, this placed was created so that Noire could practice her parkour skills." Nepgear and the question mark turned to the other side.

"Why parkour?" Uni shrugged her shoulders and pressed a button with a skyscraper building on it.

"Because she wanted to figure out what being an assassin from ancient times felt like." The question mark fell off of Nepgear after tilted his head too much.

"But hasn't she been alive… for a long time?" Uni paused for a second, then looked at the buildings beginning to form. Once the simulation had completely formed, Uni and Nepgear were treated to a street. On both sides of the street were cars and buildings, some of which were slightly taller than others. There was a small of number of lamp posts, which were short enough for someone to jump to. There was a trail of rings that were littered throughout the area.

"Anyways,"

"What about my ques-"

" **Anyways** , this is the course that will decide once and for all who's the better one out of the two of us?" Nepgear looked at Uni.

"What are you…" Uni huffed at him. "Oh right, rivals." Nepgear scratched his cheek. "So, how is this going to work?" Smirking, Uni pointed to the buildings.

"You're going to go through the course, jumping through the rings that will pop up." Nepgear nodded. "And I'll time you. Then you do the same for me. The fastest time will be the victor!" Nepgear gripped onto the railing.

"Alright, here I-" Uni grabbed Nepgear's right arm, causing the young man to flinch.

"Hold it." Nepgear looked back, surprise written all over his face.

"W-What is it?" Uni gave him a sharp glare.

"Take it off."

"W-What?" Uni's eyes trailed down.

"Those." Nepgear followed her gaze to see Uni staring at his boots.

"My boots?" Uni nodded vigorously.

"Yes, I've seen what those things can do and I want this to be as fair as possible." Unable to question Uni's passionate stare, Nepgear smiled and complied. Letting his boots clang on the floor, Nepgear tiptoed on the platform.

"Hehe, it's kinda cold." Uni rolled her eyes.

"Just go!" Startled, Nepgear jumped off of the platform and landed beside the street. Running down the street, Nepgear runs through a ring placed right in front of him. Seeing the next ring close a nearby street lamp, the young man ran over to the car in front of the lamp post. Climbing ontop of the vehicle, Nepgear leaped off of the roof of the car and gripped onto the lamp post, swinging off of it and flying through the ring. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the young man rolled around before turning to another car. Climbing on top of the car, Nepgear found the next ring behind the lamp post, leading back to the first car. Running and jumping off the car, Nepgear landed on the first car after flying through the ring. Nepgear then began to climb up the building closest to the car, leaping up window sills and climbing up balconies to get to the roof. Upon climbing to the top of the building, Nepgear found two rings floating next to a billboard.

Taking a deep breath, Nepgear jumped through one of the rings and ran across the billboard so that he could jump through the second ring. Running off the building, Nepgear landed on the shorter, adjacent building. Dashing through the rooftop, Nepgear swung over the top of some vents and rushed to the edge of the rooftop. Leaping as hard as he can, Nepgear flew over to the edge of another rooftop and barely missing edge off the roof, his lower body slamming against the cement walls. Struggling to pull himself up, Nepgear looks around seeing the next ring in between the next building and the one he was on. Rubbing his right arm, Nepgear sprinted to the edge of the building and jumped off. This time, the Candidate cleared the building and rolled across the rooftop. Getting to his feet, Nepgear found the next ring on top of a car in front of the building.

Massaging his neck, Nepgear climbed down his building slowly. As Nepgear was climbing down the building, Uni narrowed her eyes as she watched Nepgear hesitate in using his right arm.

Upon touching down on the ground, Nepgear immediately climbed over the car to get through the ring. Looking from there, Nepgear found the next ring across the street. Hopping off of the car, the young man raced across the street to climb up the next the building up to the next ring. Reaching up the rooftop, Nepgear hopped over the ring. Scanning the area, Nepgear found the next ring on the significantly smaller building nearby. The Candidate dived off the building towards the next one, rolling as soon as he landed on the rooftop.

Realizing he already went through the ring, Nepgear found three more rings positioned on a walkway. The walkway was made of a long wooden board that was just placed haphazardly between two buildings. Testing the board with his foot, the Candidate bit his lip and dashed across the board. As soon as Nepgear passed through the third ring, the board slipped off the rooftop and forced the young man to latch onto the end of the building.

Pulling him over the edge, Nepgear let out a large sigh of relief when he saw the finish line on the platform. Staggering over to the other edge of the rooftop, Nepgear hopped up and climbed back up onto the platform. The moment Nepgear pulled himself over, the platform shined a bright light and let out a victory jingle.

Uni glanced at the timer that popped up when Nepgear began his race.

"Seven minutes, flat." The Lastation Candidate raised an eyebrow. "Not bad." Nepgear sat up, rubbing the back of his head, with a smile on his face.

"T-Thanks." Nepgear rubbed his right arm. Uni stared as Nepgear continued to nurse his arm.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Startled, Nepgear pushed himself to his feet, raising his hands as if to defend himself.

"I-I'm fine, really!"After watching Nepgear put his boots back on, Uni pushed the button, replacing all the rings and the wooden board back onto the map. Crossing her arms, Uni leaned against the rail.

"Well, I'm going to start now." Uni smirked. " _And I'm going to put your skills to shame!"_ Uni pointed to the button with a clock on it. "Push that as soon as I jump off of the railing." Nepgear nodded, leaning against the control panel. "Alright…"

Uni scanned the area, looking at the rings' order. After planning her strategy, the Lastation Candidate climbed over the railing.

"Uh…" Ignoring Nepgear, Uni dashed towards the car. "Uni!" Swinging off of the lamp post, Uni flipped through the ring. "Uh, Uni!" The Candidate rushed over to the building and began climbing it. "UNI!" Stopping one floor away from the top of the multi-story building,Uni tightened her grip on the window sill she was looking at and glared at Nepgear.

"What!?" Nepgear pointed at her dress.

"I don't think your dress is meant to do parkour." Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" Nepgear scratched his cheek.

"Your dress gets caught by the air very easily…" Uni made an expressionless face.

"What?" Nepgear stared at the control panel.

"I saw it…" After a second of thinking, Uni's mind froze. "...Sorry." Face burning, Uni began kicking the building.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me earlier!?" With each kick, Uni's fingers slid off towards the corners of the sill.

"Uni!" Before the Lastation Candidate could say anything, her hands slipped off of the window sill. "Look out!" As her fingers slipped, Nepgear jumped off the platform and used his boots to air dash towards Uni. Appearing under the girl, Nepgear wrapped his arms around her.

"H-Hey, what are yo-" Nepgear wrapped his right arm around over Uni's head. The duo plummeted towards the ground. In the moments that they have left, Nepgear twisted his body and protected Uni before crashing into the car. The vehicle flattened under the duo's combined weight and the momentum gained from gravity.

"Ugh, that hurt a lot…" Pulling her head out of Nepgear's arms, the Candidate of Lastation shook her head. "You know that I could have transformed and saved myself!" Nepgear let a grunt.

"Sorry… I wasn't thinking…" Scoffing, Uni grabbed Nepgear by the right arm. "Ow!" Startled, Uni nearly let go of Nepgear.

"W-What? How does your arm hurt?" Pulling a groaning Nepgear off of the car, Uni helped the young man sit down on the ground. "You landed on your back!" Shaking his head, Nepgear gripped onto his right sleeve.

"...Do you remember when I blew up my arm?" Uni nodded. Nepgear pulled back his sleeve, revealing that the entirety of his forearm to his wrist was covered in bandages.

"Wh- How?!" Uni ran her finger along the bandages, causing the Planeptune Candidate to stiffen his arm. "CPUs and Candidates recover three times more than regular people! You should be healed by now!" Nepgear shook his head.

"I-It turns out that I'm different…" Sucking in air, Nepgear unrolled the bandages. Upon removing the bandages, the Planeptune Candidate revealed that portions of his arm was covered in second degree burns and scars.

"Oh geez…" Uni got to her feet, eyes wide in shock. "I-If you had this kind of injury, then why didn't you decline my duel?" Nepgear shook his head.

"Because… even if you don't like it…" Nepgear gave Uni a toothy smile. "Uni's my first friend, and I didn't want to decline an invitation…" Uni felt something in her chest. Feet giving out, Uni dropped to her knees and sighed.

"...I lost…" Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"Huh?" Shaking her head, Uni grinned and held out a hand.

"Nothing, just… Sorry." Now a question mark popped on top of Nepgear's head. "I've been ignoring your feelings for a while now." Nepgear grabbed onto Uni's hand and got to his feet. "Even though I've been real harsh," Uni broke eye contact, turning to the side. "Do you, wanna, maybe… be fr-fr-fr…" Uni shut her eyes. "Friendly rivals!?" The Lastation Candidate stepped backwards. " _Aw crap, I messed it up!"_ Nepgear clasped his hands over one of Uni's hands.

"I'd love to!" Uni stood there, staring at Nepgear with her mouth wide open.

" _...Roll with it."_ Sighing in relief, Uni nodded and pointed to the platform. "Come on and let's go get your arm patched up." Nepgear nodded.

"Sure!" The simulation turned into a flight of stairs, allowing the duo passage back to the platform. "By the way, I wonder what our sisters are doing?"

"Beats me…"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Neptune was sitting in a chair in front of a desk, both of her legs and her left arm shackled to the chair. In her free hand was a handmade Lady Black Heart signature stamp and on top of the desk was a dictionary-sized stack of papers.

"Aww, Noire! I don't wanna work!" Noire, sitting in an armchair next to Neptune, crossed her arms and scoffed.

"Well, too bad. Just think of this as punishment for slander." Tears in her eyes, Neptune shook in her chair.

"Don't be like that Tsun Heart~!" Noire glared at the captured CPU.

"Don't call me that!" Noire narrowed her eyes. "You know what? You're gonna be stuck there for another three stacks!" Neptune slammed the stamp on the paper.

"NEPUUUUUUUUUUU!"

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 0** → **1 (Acquaintance)**


	4. Visit

Chapter 4: Visit

* * *

"Hahaha! That's so weird!" Uni began typing onto the touch screen of her U-ta, holding back a smirk. "Wouldn't you check to see if the pudding was past the expiration date before eating it!?"

It has been a couple months since the Planeptune CPUs' visit to Lastation. Uni was currently lounging in the living room, lying on the couch. Legs hanging free, Uni was texting Nepgear. As he was leaving with his sister, Nepgear asked for her phone number. Uni was surprised at first, but the girl complied, getting his in the process. When Neptune saw her brother's face after getting Uni's number, she made a face a Noire, which caused the Lastation CPU to toss Neptune out of the building.

Uni smiled at the memory, looking back at her U-ta upon receiving another message. Tapping the "View" button, another message from Nepgear popped up.

 _Hey Uni, wanna sleep over tomorrow tonight? I got some games I wanna show you!_

 _-Nepgear_

Uni rolled her eyes and began rereading the message.

"You don't have to sign your name at the bottom of a text message, Nepge-" The Lastation Candidate paused, her eyes fixated on the words that appeared on the screen.

" _Did he…"_

After a second, Uni locked and unlocked her screen.

" _It's there."_

After a minute, the Candidate wiped the screen, breathed on it and then wiped it again.

" _It's still there."_

After another minute, Uni restarted her U-ta and went back to the message screen.

" _It wasn't a glitch…"_

Uni opened the app store and went to her settings. Choosing her messenger app, Uni's finger hovered over the "Uninstall" button. At the moment Uni was about to tap the button, a door opened in the distance.

"Uni, I'm about to head to Pinion Go. You want anything?" Noire walked into the living room to see her little sister's face. "Uh, you okay?" Blinking her eyes, Uni quickly shook her head, her side updo pigtails swaying side to side.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. I was just spacing out for a bit." Noire smirked and placed a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Y'know, you've been happier ever since you became friends with Nepgear." Uni's cheeks flushed a light pink and she waved her hand as if she was fanning herself.

"N-No, I-I'm just happy to have a rival to compete with!" Noire smiled.

"Yeah, well, what were you staring at?" Uni shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, nothing. Nepgear just invited me to a sleepover-" Uni immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. Noire raised an eyebrow, a sly grin on her face.

"Sleepover, huh?" Uni let her hand drop to her lap and glanced at her U-ta. "Why don't you go ahead and hang out with him?" Uni looked at her sister, mouth agape.

"W-Why should I do that?" Noire raised an eyebrow.

"Beeecuaaase your friends?" Uni grunted in shock.

"T-Then, why don't you hang out with Neptune?" Noire rolled her eyes.

"Neptune and I hold positions of power and because she takes every single opportunity to annoy me." Winking at her sister, Noire headed out of the living room. "You want the usual from the Pinion Go?" Uni nodded. "Alright, I'll be back."

"T-Take care." Getting up, Uni brought her phone to her room. Closing the door, Uni dove for her bed. Sighing, the Candidate looked at her phone again. Staring long and hard at the message, Uni rolled onto her back and held out her phone.

" _I know that Nepgear and I are supposed to be 'friendly rivals'- whatever that is- but, I just can't help but feel like something isn't right."_ Sitting up, Uni curled up into a ball. " _It's like I'm lying to Nepgear, just to make Noire have a better opinion of me."_ Leaning her head on the headboard, Uni closed her eyes. " _But Nepgear…"_

ↀ **Д** ↀ

 _ **Neptune flew out of the Basilicom's, landing on the concrete floor with her rear sticking up in the air.**_

" _ **N-Neptune!" Nepgear ran after his sister, helping her up. Neptune pouted at the Noire as she walked up to the brother and sister duo.**_

" _ **Owwwwch, Lonely Heart!" Noire glared at the smaller CPU. "Why do you gotta be such a meanie butt!" Crossing her arms, Noire huffed at Neptune as Uni calmly walked up to the group.**_

" _ **I am**_ _ **NOT**_ _**lonely! So stop calling me that!" Uni watched as Neptune and Noire began their literal game of cat and mouse. Nepgear walked up to the other Candidate and tapped her on the shoulder.**_

" _ **Um, Uni?"**_

" _ **Yeah?" Nepgear gave the Candidate a small smile.**_

" _ **I'm really glad…" Uni stepped in an attempt to save herself from Nepgear's endearing eyes. "...that you want to be friends." Cheeks slightly reddening, Uni turned to the side and put a hand through her hair.**_

" _ **D-Don't get the wrong idea- I just see you as a respectable person, that's all." Nepgear smiled. Neptune slowed to a stop, ignoring the fact that Noire just tackled her to the ground.**_

" _ **Aha, got you!" Noire grinned triumphantly.**_

" _ **Hey, Noire?" The CPU of Lastation blinked.**_

" _ **What?"**_

" _ **Me thinks, that your little sis is training in the ways of the Tsun." Noire furrowed her eyebrows.**_

" _ **Wha-" Neptune held her arms as high in the air as she could.**_

" _ **Praise the tsun!" Noire drove a fist into Neptune's temple.**_

" _ **Will. You. Cut. That. Out!" With each word, Noire twisted her fist with, causing Neptune to twitch and yelp.**_

" _ **Owwwwwch!"**_

ↀ **Д** ↀ

" _...he was so happy then."_ Uni clutched her dress in her hands. " _And here I am just trampling all over that."_

Suddenly, Uni's phone vibrated in her hands. Startled, the girl checked her phone to see that Nepgear sent another message.

 _Uh… you can just say no if you don't want to go…_

 _-Nepgear_ _(-ω-_ _、_ _)_

A drop of sweat rolled down Uni's face as she stared at the emoji Nepgear used. " _Make it harder for me why don't you…"_ Scratching her head, Uni bit the inside of her cheek. " _What should I do?"_

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Glancing at the door, Uni put down her phone.

"Who is it?" The door opened to reveal Noire, carrying a greasy bag.

"Here, the usual." Uni watched her sister place the bag of food on the cabinet nearby, along with a medium sized soda.

"T-Thanks." Noire leaned against the door frame.

"So, did you answer him yet?" Noire smiled and walked over patting Uni on the head.

"It's okay to do things, even if you think otherwise." Uni looked up at her sister, confused. "How do you think I can handle Neptune's idiocy?" The Candidate made an O shape with her mouth as Noire giggled. "Now don't worry about what's what and just enjoy yourself." Smiling, Uni nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Nodding her head, Noire turned around and left the room while waving a hand. Uni's beaming eyes followed her sister as she left the door.

" _Noire gave me advice! She even patted me on the head!"_ Uni glanced at her phone. A surge of confidence within her, Uni grabbed U-ta and began typing a message. After hitting the send button, Uni got to look for her bag.

Almost immediately, Uni's phone got a message, but she didn't need to know what the message was.

 _٩_ _(◕‿◕_ _｡_ _)_ _۶_

 _-Nepgear_

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Carrying a bag filled with necessities, Black Sister hurdled through the skies of Gamindustri, making a straight shot for Planeptune's Basilicom. As she was flying towards the upper areas of the building, she found Nepgear looking around. From what she could see, Nepgear wasn't wearing his regular pilot- it's what Nepgear wants to call it- outfit. Instead, all the Candidate could see on her friendly rival was a ton of white.

Spotting Black Sister in the sky, Nepgear raised both of his arms and waved excitedly.

"Uni! Over here!" As Black Sister approached the balcony Nepgear was on, she got a closer look of his outfit.

Nepgear still wore his D-pad hairclip, but the rest of his outfit was completely different. The young man wore a long sleeved white button down shirt. The shirt had dark purple buttons, a pink lining around the pocket around his heart and two rectangular purple patches. The shirt's collar was mainly purple with white stripes, a theme it shared with his cuffs and hems of the shirt. Wrapped neatly around his neck was a yellow tie, while a dark purple clip fastened to his shirt. Also on his neck, there was a white choker that reminded Black Sister of a collar. Nepgear's legs were covered in a comfortable pair of slacks. As soon as Black Sister got closer, she could see pink and white striped socks peeking out between his slacks and his white sneakers. It was refreshing to see Nepgear wearing something other than his boots. The lacing of the sneakers were pink while the tongue and soles of the sneaker was dark purple. On the insoles of his shoes a pink _N_ surrounded by dark purple emblem.

"Uni, you made it!" Upon touching down, Black Sister transformed into her human form. Uni nervously shouldered her bag as Nepgear run up to her.

"H-Hey…" Grabbing Uni's hand, Nepgear began to pull her inside the Basilicom. "W-Wait, how's your arm?" Blinking his eyes, Nepgear smiled and rolled up his right sleeve, revealing that his arm was fine except for some faded scars.

"Yeah, It's just about healed up." Scratching his cheek, Nepgear pulled Uni through the bright colored living room. "Although it was kinda painful as it was healing, especially the ones where pieces of the Gear Buster sunk deep into my arm." Uni grimaced as she watched Nepgear poke at one of the faded scars. "It turns out that having metal stuck in arm makes it heal slower than burns. That's weird, right?" Nepgear chuckled as Uni's eye twitched.

"W-Who knew…" The Lastation Candidate gripped her bag and tuned out the young man. Noticing Uni's discomfort, Nepgear hastily rolled out his sleeve and awkwardly smiled at the young girl.

"S-Sorry, Uni. I'm just really happy you're here." Nepgear turned around completely to face Uni, stopping in front of a door that was slightly ajar. Uni felt a pang of guilt, but at the same time, her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Really?" Nepgear's smile turned genuine.

"Mhm!" Nepgear turned to the door, pushing it open. "Anyway, here's my room!" Before Nepgear could reveal the entirety of his room to his friend, a pair of arms and a smaller body latched onto the Candidate and nearly caused him to fall over. Uni stepped back, slightly surprised.

"Heya, Nep Jr.!" Neptune's head popped up from behind Nepgear's shoulder, nestling her head on her little brother's neck. "Ah, Uni! Hey there!" Uni gave the CPU of Planeptune a small wave, a bead of sweat rolling down her face.

"H-Hey." From Nepgear's other shoulder, a tiny girl with fairy wings floated over the young man's head. Sitting on a thick, open tome, the girl's bright blue eyes shined upon seeing Uni.

"You must be Uni. (*^▽^*)" Uni nodded her head, eyes following the tome fairy as she floated in front of her. "I am Histoire, Planeptune's Oracle. (≧∇≦)/" The Oracle shifted herself to an upright position. "Please make yourself at home. m(_ _)m" As Histoire made the emoticon, the Oracle bowed towards Uni. Caught off guard, Uni bowed as well.

"N-No, thank you!" A cat-like grin appeared on Neptune's mouth.

"See? She's a good girl!" Histoire nodded. "Not completely honest, but a good girl." Uni looked and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hey!"

"A little too much, Neptune… (^_^;)" Histoire smiled at Uni. "Anyways, thank you for being Nepgear's friend, it really means a lot to him." Uni bit the inside of her cheek.

"N-No, it's not really…" Neptune patted Uni on the back, giving her a large grin and a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it! Just have fun!" Neptune's grin grew wider. "In fact…-NEPU!?" Suddenly, Histoire's hand grabbed Neptune's hood and pulled her away. "Aw, come on Histy! Just a couple of games!" Histoire waved to Nepgear and Uni as she floated down the hallway.

"No, Neptune. Nepgear needs this break more than you need to work. Speaking of which…" An anger vein popped up above Histoire's head. Taking a deep breath, Histoire smiled at the Candidates, while the vein was still pulsing. "Uni, please enjoy your day." Histore turned the corner, dragging Neptune with her.

"Just one game, pleaaaase…" Nepgear let out a light chuckle as Uni watched the duo disappear.

"Histoire is really strong…" Uni looked to see Nepgear fully open his room, the owner gesturing to the open door.

"Want to play some games?" Uni shrugged her shoulders and grinned.

"Well, that's why I'm here." Nepgear stepped aside and let Uni walk in first. The young man's smile grew from side to side. Nepgear walked inside his room.

And closed the door.

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 1 (Acquaintance)**


	5. Game of Life

Chapter 5: Game of Life

* * *

"Here it is!" Nepgear spread his arms out, twirling around and letting his hair, which Uni noticed was let loose, flow behind him.

"Y-Yeah…" Uni glanced around Nepgear's room.

The Planeptune Candidate's room had light purple walls that reminded of the girl of the armor of mecha robots and of ships. To the left side of the room, the wall was titled, ruining the room's rectangular symmetry. The wall was mostly glass, while there was a counter and a pink plush couch. On the counter was a handful of potted bushes and sitting on the couch was bunch of giant plushies.

At the center of the room was a purple rug, on top of the rug was a small circular table with two identical pink plush chairs. Across the windowed wall, was a wooden desk where Nepgear kept a plethora of books, a purple toolbox, and a light purple laptop. Above the desk was posters of mechas, planes and robots. Sitting on the desk appeared to be Nepgear's Gear Buster.

" _Huh, he finally repaired it."_

Across the room from Uni was a ladder that led up to a loft, where Uni could see Nepgear's bed. Complete with purple sheets. Underneath the loft, there was a flatscreen TV with Lowee's, Lastation's, Leanbox's and Planeptune's latest consoles lined up next to each other. Currently, the Planeptune Dremycost was hooked up to the TV. Each of the consoles a set of four controllers rolled up in front of the consoles. On the corner between Nepgear's bed and desk was a full body mirror and a large closet. Both the mirror and the closet were a bright pink and ontop of the closet was a large Dogoo plushie.

Out of everything that caught Uni's attention, it was the large amount of pink that presented itself in Nepgear's room, especially the closet that took up a large portion of the room.

Nepgear plopped himself onto one of the chairs, where there was a plate of cookies, bite-sized cakes and other treats along with bottles of juice. The Planeptune Candidate scratched his cheek, glancing at the window.

"S-So, what do you think?" Uni sat down at the open seat, placing her bag underneath the table.

"It's girlier that I thought." Nepgear's face went from pink to red. "In fact, I was almost paralyzed to go in at first, since this was my first time entering a guy's room." The Planeptune Candidate grabbed a cookie and began to bite into submission.

"Neptune was the one who decorated my room for me." Nepgear looked around, the color slowly fading. "She did live withe me for a while." Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Neptune did?" Nepgear nodded. "But you're a guy, and she's a girl?" Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"What's wrong with that?" Uni opened her mouth, raising a hand, only to pause and stare at Nepgear's innocent stare.

"Nevermind." Looking at the pink furniture, the Lastation Candidate saw Nepgear grab a bottle of Nep Bull. The young man twisted open the bottle and began to drink from it, with his pinky sticking out. Uni's eyes widened. " _So girly!"_ Uni bit the inside of her cheek and looked to at the desk. " _At least he dresses like a guy…"_ Uni's mind wandered to Nepgear in a dress- which she immediately shoved out of her mind. Bits of it. "A-Anyways, what kind of game are we going to play?" Uni hoped it was a shooter, cause she's going to destroy Nepge-

"The Game of Life." Nepgear stood up and turned on Planeptune's console. Uni stared at the young man with blank eyes.

"The single player game." Nepgear turned to his friend, the game in his hands. The Candidate scratched his cheek, red returning.

"I-I like to imagine the steps you can take…" Nepgear then turned to the screen lowering his head. "And I wanted to play it with you…" Uni felt a force push back into her chair and another force heat up her face. Maybe it was the pure amount of sugar in that Nepgear had laid out or the sweetness coming from the innocence in his mouth.

"Then what will I do?" Nepgear looked at Uni again, holding up the controller.

"...You can take the even numbered days while I take the odd ones?" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you ask that?" Nepgear responded with a bashful smile. A second of silence. Then a sigh. "Fine, let's play." Nepgear's bashfulness turned to glee. Bouncing on the floor, Nepgear practically shoved the game into his console, causing Uni to unconsciously flinch. "Don't break anything." Nepgear tapped the place next to him on the floor.

"Uni! Uni! Over here!" Shrugging her shoulders, Uni complied with Nepgear's enthusiasm and sat down close to Nepgear. Without hesitation, Nepgear scooted closer to the girl.

"Hey, can yo-" Uni eyes met with Nepgear's innocence. "...Nothing, just start already." Nepgear started a new game and created two characters. Uni watched Nepgear make recreate both of them into two avatars, barring their clothing. "Hey, I didn't say you could make me?" Nepgear handed the controller to Uni.

"But how you going to experience the Game of Life without being alive in the game?"

"What?" Nepgear looked at the screen.

"Why don't we name the characters? Since you have the controller, you go first, Uni." Uni opened her mouth to retort, but shook her head and named her character, going for _Yuni_. Nepgear stared at the name with a blank look, causing Uni discomfort.

"What, got a problem with the name?" Nepgear shook his head, tilting it to the side and putting his thumb and pointy finger on his chin.

"Not really, it just doesn't sound that creative." Uni glared.

"Why don't _you_ think of a better one?" Shoving the controller in Nepgear's hands, Uni crossed her arms and watched Nepgear immediately make a name for his avatar. Once Nepgear hit the confirmation button, Uni furrowed her eyebrows. "What the heck is _Ge-Ge_?" Nepgear let out a small chuckle.

"Compa calls me that." Uni shrugged her shoulders and watched Nepgear move onto the next screen. "So next, we have to choose our characters' relationship." Nepgear grinned at Uni. "Why don't we make them childhood friends?" Uni rolled her eyes.

"Nepgear, if these avatars are supposed to be us, then we have to make them rivals starting out." Nepgear pouted.

"B-But we're friends now, right?" Uni felt her heart sting upon hearing the word "friends".

"Y-yeah, but…" Uni leaned back, feeling overwhelmed by Nepgear's pout. "D-Don't give me that… it's making me feel bad…" Uni shook her head and held up a hand. "How about we settle this with rock paper scissors." Nepgear nodded and copied the notion.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

" **Scissors!"** Uni called out Rock! Nepgear called out Paper! Paper is super effective against Rock! The winner is… Nepgear!

"Augh!" Uni put her hands on her head while Nepgear put his hands to the ceiling.

"Yay!" Nepgear selected the childhood friend option before Uni could argue. Sighing, Uni walked over to the table and grabbed their drinks.

"Here." Nepgear thanked Uni and took the drink. Plopping down next to Nepgear, the Candidate watched Nepgear gaze at their avatars interacting with each other.

"Ah, your turn." Handing over the controller, Uni sighed and watched as _Ge-Ge_ and _Yuni_ walk to school together, chatting and generally having a good time. Rolling her eyes, Uni made the duo walk up to the rooftop.

"...I'm bored." Pushing the controller back to Nepgear, the girl stood up and stretched. "Hey, can I look around?" Nepgear shrugged his shoulders and starting controlling _Yuni_ and _Ge-Ge's_ actions.

Uni walked around the room, staring at the decorations and guessing whether they were from Nepgear or Neptune. Considering Nepgear's manliness and Neptune's femininity, Uni was having fun. Reaching Nepgear's desk, Uni traced her finger across the smooth wooden surface until she reached the Gear Buster. Uni closed her eyes, a small smile reaching her face.

 _ **An explosion cut off the boy as Epsilon staggered backwards, its arms dangling in the air while it's legs collapsed onto the ground. Nepgear, with the momentum he carried, flew through the explosion and towards the center of the platform, smoke emitting from his arm.**_

" _Nepgear nearly destroyed his arm to save me…"_ Uni's smile dropped. " _And yet here I am, and I can't call him my friend…"_

"Ah!" Uni whipped her head over to Nepgear, who was leaning closer to the TV. The Candidate rushed over to her friendly rival, sliding onto her knees.

"What's wrong?" Nepgear pointed to the screen.

"Look!" Uni narrowed her eyes at the place that Nepgear was directing her to. Nepgear had left the cursor over _Yuni_ and there was a window that revealed the avatar's relationship to _Ge-Ge_. The Lastation Candidate's eyes widened, her cheeks burned, and her mouth dropped to the floor- metaphorically.

"D-D-D-Dating!" Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders, throttling him. Meanwhile, Nepgear had a blissful smile on his face as his eyes stuck to the screen. "W-What did you do?! What h-happened?! Why-" Nepgear shrugged his shoulders.

"I put the game on auto so I could focus on everything else." Uni let go of Nepgear and grabbed her head, choking on her own voice.

"B-But we're rivals! And they're dating!" Nepgear blinked.

"I thought we were friends?"

"Friendly rivals!" Nepgear cracked a smile, which began to twitch. When he began to snicker, Uni paused in her panic and stared at him. "What?" Lips trembling, Nepgear burst into laughter, holding his sides. "H-Hey! What's so funny?" Shaking his head, Nepgear wiped away a tear.

"...Nothing. It's just…" Nepgear grinned. "You're really funny, Uni." Uni backed up, her cheeks flushing.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Nepgear pointed at the game.

"You got really worked up about a game… Like it was real." Uni cheeks began to heat up. Nepgear's smile grew bright. "But, it really makes happy that you care about our friendship, Uni." Suddenly, Uni glared at the young man.

"...I'm getting a drink." Confused, the Planeptune Candidate stared at the bottle of soda next to her.

"But there's a drink right…" Uni got up, walking to the door.

"I'm getting a drink." Nepgear watched Uni walk out of the door.

"Ah… the kitchen is close to the living ro-" Uni shut the door.

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Uni turned on the tab on the kitchen sink, letting her hands slip into the cold stream of water.

" _...What was that?"_ Uni splashed her face full with water, rubbing away her troubles- Most of them. " _Why did I go and freak out like that…?"_ Sighing, Uni turned off the tap and grabbed one of the paper towels. " _I mean, it wouldn't be that bad if Nepgear and I da-"_ Uni shook her head, nearly ripping the paper towel with her tightening grip. " _No! We're rivals! We can't!"_ The Candidate pulled her head away from dampened disposable towel.

" _ **But, it really makes happy that you care about our friendship, Uni."**_

" _But still,"_ Uni gripped her chest. " _Hearing that made me mad… It's like I-"_ Uni closed her eyes, tapping her forehead with her fist. " _No no no no. Don't, Uni. That's walking into Shoujo Manga territory."_ Balling up the paper towel, Uni walked over to the trash can. " _If anything, we're just friends… In Nepgear's mind."_ Depositing the paper towel, Uni turned around and headed back to Nepgear's room. " _Man, I'm horrible…"_

As Uni walked down the hallway that led to Nepgear's room, the young girl passed by a door that was slightly ajar.

"-ne. Yo-" Uni paused, turning towards the door.

" _That sounded like Histoire."_

"I know, His-" Uni raised an eyebrow, failing to hide her curiosity.

" _Neptune too?"_ And from the sounds of it, Neptune sounded serious. Two words- that Uni could tell from how she acted around Noire- that never should be in a sentence together. Taking the bait, Uni leaned against the open door, peeking in.

The Candidate could see Neptune and Histoire sitting across from each other. The CPU was crossing her arms and pouting while the Oracle was making a determined look, staring into Neptune's eyes.

"Neptune, we have to test Nepgear's abilities or else-" Neptune's pout pouted.

"Like I said Histy, I know Nepgear like the back of my hand, and I know that Nepgear can't do it!" Histoire shook her head.

"I know Nepgear cannot attain HDD. But I'm asking that you let him go out and explore the world!" If there was something Uni never thought she would see, is that Neptune would furrow her eyebrows and glare.

"No! Nepgear's world is robots, machines, me, games, and this Basilicom! That's all he needs!" Uni gasped, but quickly covered her mouth.

" _Oh my gosh! Nepgear's situation, it's like mine, but a totally different scale!"_ Neptune stood up and turned away, causing Histoire to sigh.

"Neptune, if Nepgear does not understand his limits and transforms without proper training, he'll die!" Neptune turned around, eyes filled with tears.

"I know that Histy! I know!" Uni stepped back, leaning against the wall. "If only I had more than ten percent of the world's Shares, Nepgear might…" The Candidate could see Neptune clutch her head and tremble, and a small hand patting her head.

"It's okay, Neptune. From what my records have shown, there have been three instances where a CPU Candidate has been born incomplete." The last word brought chills up Uni's spine. "And they've all shown the same symptoms as Nepgear: a different gender, a slower recovery rate and the inability to activate HDD." Uni could hear Historie choke on her words. "B-but every one of those Candidates suffered when they tried to transform…"

Without hesitation, Uni rushed over to the door and shoved it open.

"W-What do you mean?! What's going to happen to Nepgear?" The two authorities of Planeptune were shocked to see Lastation's CPU Candidate burst through the door, panting.

"Uni…" Neptune opened her mouth, but Histoire signaled her to stop.

"Judging from your reaction, you've heard quite a bit." Histoire's face was completely different from the warm welcome she gave Uni earlier.

"Why is Nepgear, going to die?" Neptune gazed at the floor, but Histoire nodded to her.

"It's fine, Neptune." Histoire turned to Uni. "Nepgear, unlike you and the other two CPU Candidates, was born when Planeptune had ten percentage of the world's Shares. And as a result, he was born incomplete." Uni gritted her teeth.

"What does that even mean?" Histoire pressed her lips together.

"Exactly what it means. Like a child born with a missing limb or a product missing key ingredients," Histoire gripped her dress. "Nepgear is incomplete." Uni transformed into Black Sister, pointing at herself.

"And what will happen if Nepgear decides to transform, huh? He'll die?" Histoire shook her head.

"No, should Nepgear decide to transform now. He will not be killed by the transformation itself." Histoire turned to Neptune. "I'd rather hope this scenario will not occur, but should Nepgear transform, Neptune must slay him before the transformation is complete." Black Sister turned to Neptune, who was trembling and quietly sobbing.

"That doesn't make any sense, why would you have to kill him?!" Histoire summoned a Sharicite.

"Because, CPUs are born with perfect compatibility with Sharicites, being able to transform at will. However, Nepgear is not born with that compatibility. He is neither CPU nor human. Even if he was a human, the result would be the same." Histoire tapped the Sharicite, causing it glow brighter and brighter. "If Nepgear would interact with the Sharicite, or force a transformation, the Sharicite will reject him and corrupt the transformation, turning him into a monster." Black Sister's eyes widened, stepping back, the girl unconsciously transformed back into Uni.

"A-A monster…" Histoire nodded.

"Yes, an incomplete CPU Candidate who went by the name of Rei Ryghts attempted to transform. Although the transformation was complete, the Candidate went insane and attacked everything and anything in the way…" Histoire snapped her fingers and the Sharicite disappeared. "...destroying the country in the process."

"So, Nepgear… can turn into that…" Histoire nodded.

"Yes, and no." Neptune stood up, grabbing onto Uni shoulders.

"If Nep Jr., is able to get super strong. If he can become amazing with training and practice… he can, do it." Neptune looked up, tears threatening to drip down her face. "But I can't let him go out, because of that time…" Uni blinked her eyes.

"That…" Neptune's grip tightened.

"Uni, you're friends with Nepgear, right?" Uni's eyes wavered. "Then, you can help right?" Neptune's hands slid down to Uni's arms. "I can only help Nepgear so much, but… I can't help him all the way." The CPU of Planeptune gripped Uni's hands, bringing them close to her heart. "Please, help Nepgear!" Uni turned to look out the door, where Nepgear was waiting for her, his friend, to come back.

" _ **I'd like to be friends with Uni…"**_ Uni's hands trembled.

" _ **S-Sorry, I-I was too excited, thinking that we were going to hang out…"**_ Uni's mouth quivered.

" _ **I'm really glad… that you want to be friends…"**_ Uni's heartbeat escalated.

" _ **Uni!"**_ She could practically see that happy smile.

 _ **٩**_ _ **(◕‿◕**_ _ **｡**_ _ **)**_ _ **۶**_

Kinda like that one but more Nepgear like.

Taking a deep breath, Uni pulled away from Neptune's grip, putting a hand on the door. Pointing at the CPU, Uni smirked.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not here to deal with things like that!" Crossing her arms, the Lastation Candidate turned her head to the side. "I came here to hang out with my friend." Neptune wiped her eyes.

"Uni…" The Candidate's smirk grew.

"B-But if you'd like, I'll help him out!" Neptune and Histoire turned to each other and smile.

"Uni, than-"

"You really are a Mini-Noire!" Histoire and Uni froze, slowly turning to Neptune. "A-Ah, sorry. Couldn't help it." Neptune skipped over to Uni and gave the girl a hug. "But thanks a lot, Uni!" Surprised at the hug, Uni broke away and headed down the hallway.

"Yeah, yeah! I got it, already!" Uni ran down the hallway and zipped into Nepgear's room, shutting the door. Histoire looked at Neptune.

"So, are you going to work properly from now on?" Neptune put a hand behind her head.

"Eeeeeeeh?!"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

"Phew…" Uni shook her head, pushing what she just learned into the back of her head.

"Ah, Uni! Welcome back!" Looking down the room, Uni found Nepgear holding a Lo U game, where she could see all the mascots of Lowee and the title "Super Bash Sisters" on the cover. "I was just getting ready to set up another game!" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to the other one?" The young man scratched his head.

"I cut it short, since you were getting kinda bored." Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"Start it back up." Nepgear looked at Uni, a droplet of sweat stopping in place.

"Eh?" Uni walked over to Nepgear and swiped the game from his hand.

"Start up the other game. Now." Nodding his head, Nepgear restarted the Game of Life. As the young man sat down, Uni took the controllers and recreated _Ge-Ge_ and _Yuni_.

"Ah, I guess you're going to make them rivals, huh?" Uni rolled her eyes and selected the childhood friend option. "B-But, I-" Uni turned to Nepgear, smirking.

"What, I thought we were friends?" Eyes beaming, Nepgear nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Uni shrugged her head, started the game, and set on auto. Neptune's request popped into her head as Nepgear stretched his arms.

"Hey, Nepgear?"

"Mmh?"

"Have you ever wanted to go HDD?" A small smile.

"Kinda… but Histoire and Neptune say I have long ways to go before I can even try it." Uni grinned.

"Wanna work together then? Go on Quests, train and all that." Nepgear's smile grew bigger and bigger.

"You mean that?" Uni scoffed.

"When have I ever lied?" Uni regretted asking that question immediately. Suddenly, Nepgear tackled Uni to the floor, smothering her in a hug.

"Yaaaaay, you're the best Uni!" Uni struggled to break free, laughing throughout the whole thing.

"H-Hey, get off of me! That tickles!"

Throughout the afternoon and even after dinner, Nepgear's room was filled with laughter and chatting of two good friends.

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 1** → **2 (Friend)**


	6. Gear-Wing

Chapter 6: Gear-Wing

* * *

Uni opened her eyes, groaning her grogginess away. Sitting up, the Candidate looked around to find herself in a room that's she's never been in before.

"Where…?" Uni rubbed her eyes. "Oh right," The Candidate stretched her arms, yawning in satisfaction. "I slept over at Nepgear's place." Scratching her head, Uni shoved her covers off to find that she hadn't changed yet. Letting out a bigger yawn, Uni turned to the side to see her bag sitting on the bedside table.

Opening her bag, Uni pulled out a new set of clothes. The Candidate laid out a black and white shirt, a pair of jean shorts and a couple of pink ribbons.

" _I guess I'll take a quick shower…"_ Looking around, Uni found the bathroom door nearby, complete with a large fluffy towel and other necessities.

Turning on the warm water tap, the young girl let the cleansing water run down her body. Letting out a sigh of relief, Uni heard someone knock on the door.

"Uni?" The sound of Histoire's voice came from outside the bathroom. Grabbing the wrapped up bar of soap, Uni began to lather herself.

"Yes?" Histoire tapped on the door again.

"Breakfast is ready, so you can come down whenever you like." Washing herself, Uni leaned close to the shower door.

"Alright, thank you!" Histoire tapped on the door one last time.

"Please, enjoy your stay." Uni began to wash her hair, lathering up her hair slowly and methodically.

" _Hmmm… Histoire's emoticons didn't show up."_ Rinsing her hair, Uni shrugged her shoulders. " _Probably because I couldn't see her…"_ The Candidate turned off the tap and shook her head. " _Whatever."_

Walking out of the shower, Uni wiped herself dry and put on the clothes she set out. After changing, Uni followed the sweet smell coming from the dining room.

Entering the dining room, Uni found Neptune and Histoire eating pancakes. While Histoire had a healthy amount of pancakes and syrup, Neptune was currently drowned her six stack of hotcakes with half a bottle of syrup. However, there was a third person sitting across from both Histoire and Neptune.

This third girl had fair skin, and her emerald eyes were highlighted nicely. Her light brown hair was about waist length while most of her bangs were long enough to each her eyes, they were split on the upper corner and either curled inwards or outwards to her face. The girl had a side ponytail, held down by a leafy-looking bow. Wearing a black tank top and a short-short style one piece with silver detailing and a belt around her waist. Draped around her chair was dark blue jacket with silver, black and white detailing, but the jacket itself flowed over the floor. Stung over her jacket was a big belt that had a plethora of cell phones, and the girl was currently using a blue one while cutting her share of pancakes.

"Ah, Uni! Good morning!" Neptune waved over to Uni, catching the brown-haired girl's attention. Histoire bowed over to Uni. The third girl lowered her phone and raised her hand to wave, giving her a quick nod.

"Hey, so you're Uni." Uni nodded. The girl nudged the seat next to her, smirking. "Come on, the food's hot and ready." Uni quietly sat down to the brown haired girl, who patted Uni on the shoulder. "The name's IF, I work at the Guild for Nep." IF extended her free hand, the other one putting her phone down.

"H-Hi…" Suddenly, a plate of pancakes was place in front of her by another fair-skinned hand. Uni followed the tan-white wool covered arm to eventually come eye to eye with massive melons. Startled, Uni pressed herself against the wooden chair, eyes reflecting her fears.

"Here you go~! I made them nice and fluffy too~." Shaking her head, Uni looked to meet a warm smile from another girl. This new girl had light creamy pink hair that was held down by a black headband with a C patched onto the side. The next thing that Uni noticed that her eyes was the same color as her hair, maybe a bit darker. "Hello, Uni-Uni. I'm Compa! I'm a nurse working in Planeptune's Basilicom!" A droplet of sweat rolled down Uni's cheek.

"Hi, C-Compa…" Suddenly, Neptune stood up, holding up her plate.

"Compa! Seconds!" The nurse immediately zipped over to Neptune, taking the plate from her happily.

"O-kaaaay! I'll be right back!" Uni reached for the bottle of syrup, the new one that Neptune hadn't touched yet, before looking around. Nepgear hadn't walked in yet.

"Where's…" IF raised an eyebrow.

"Gear? Oh, he already finished eating." Compa walked back into the room, carrying a larger stack of pancakes.

"Yessy, Ge-Ge's already in his lab, working on his Ge-Ge Wingy." Compa set the plate in front of Neptune, who attempted to reach for the bottle in Uni's possession. However, the CPU was too far from Uni, who pulled the bottle farther out of her grasp. Meanwhile, Compa picked up Histoire's empty plate and IF jabbed some of her pancakes with a fork.

"Ge-Ge… Wingy?" IF took a sip of her coffee and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Gear's plane-fighter jet-spacecraft-thing. Whatever he calls it." Shrugging her shoulders, IF returned to her phone as Compa placed her own plate of hotcakes next to IF. "I still haven't figured out why Nep names all of his stuff." Uni rolled her eyes.

"It's lame." IF smirked.

"Right? I bet Gear would have a better naming convention than Nep." Compa smiled and leaned over to look at Uni.

"I think Nep-Nep's names are kinda cute. Sometimes." Neptune pouted and cleaned her plate. Uni swore she heard a vacuum somewhere.

"Uuuuuh…. Iffy, Compa and Uni are being mean!" Neptune turned to look at Histoire, who had already got off of her seat and headed out of the door. "W-Wait, Histy! My companion!" Pushing her plate away, Neptune waved at Uni and ran out the door. "Histy, you're supposed to back me up!" As Neptune's footsteps moved farther and farther away, Histoire's deadpanned voice could be heard faintly, but Uni couldn't make out what it was.

"Anyways," IF turned to Uni, her face suddenly serious. "I heard from Nep that you're Gear's friend." Uni nodded nervously. IF sighed, giving the girl a smile. "Thanks a ton, Uni." IF scratched the back of her head. "It helps a lot. Having someone else who can look after him?" Compa nodded.

"Especially after *that*." Uni raised an eyebrow.

" _Neptune and Histoire mentioned something like that too…"_ Having finished her share of pancakes, Uni turned to IF and Compa, who were laughing for a bit.

"Um… What is *that*?" Their laughing suddenly died down, and the two looked at each other, worried. A droplet of sweat rolled down Uni's face. " _Crap, did I step on the landmine?"_ Uni glanced around nervously. "U-Uh, was that bad?" Compa and IF looked at each other before IF shook her head.

"No, it isn't bad. Not anymore." Uni felt like something heavy was coming up. "Although it _was_ the reason why Nep is so paranoid about Gear." Compa nodded.

"If I only watched Ge-Ge properly, he wouldn't have gotten kidnapped like that…" Uni's eyes nearly bulged out of her eyes.

"He got _kidnapped?_ How?" Uni couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Isn't he a CPU Candidate, how could he even get kidnapped?" IF and Compa looked at each other. IF rested her head on her head.

"Well, it happened a week after he was born, so we didn't expect it." Uni was afraid. Was there someone out for the CPUs' lives? "We decided to show Gear around Planeptune since he was basically a baby in a teenager's body." IF pulled on her collar. "However, some people decided to take an interest on the poor guy." And now Uni's tension literally vanished.

"Interest?" Compa leaned onto IF, pressing her bust onto the brunette's head and unintentionally giving the latter discomfort.

"Mhm, there was this one crazy lady who tried to propose to Ge-Ge." Uni's eye twitched.

" _What."_

"And then after we drove her away, IF and Nep-Nep left to talk to Histy while Ge-Ge and I went to get some more sweets. I left him at a bench nearby to buy some puddings that Nep-Nep loved." Compa frowned, her lip quivering. "I turned around to see that he was just… gone." IF nodded.

"Compa called Nep and I over, and we found that same lady in a shack nearby, undressing Nepgear." Uni's mind froze.

" _Wait, did Nepgear get…"_ IF shook her head.

"When Nep found him, she literally beat the chick all the way to Lowee. And then had her arrested." Sighing, IF put a hand over Compa's. "Ever since then, Nep never let Gear out of the Basilicom without her, me or Compa's supervision." Turning to Uni, IF smiled. "So, it really means alot to us that Nep's letting you be close to Gear." Uni nodded, standing up.

"R-right…" IF stood up, downing the rest of her coffee. Reaching out a hand, IF grinned.

"All the serious talk aside, please enjoy the rest of your stay here." Uni hesitantly took IF's hand shaking it.

"Don't mention. Seriously, it's embarrassing." IF smirked.

"Yeah, that comes with being friends with Nep or Gear." Compa wrapped her arms around IF.

"Mostly Nep-Nep, but you get used to it." Uni thought back to Neptune's interactions with her sister, and nodded.

"Yeah, well I guess I'll look for Nepgear then." Compa brightened up.

"Ah, you should check his room then!" Thanking Compa, Uni left the dining room and headed to Nepgear's room.

ↀ **Д** ↀ

When Uni reached Nepgear's room, the door leading to his room was shut. Knocking on the door, Uni leaned on the doorframe.

"Nepgear?" No response. Uni knocked again. "It's me, Uni." There was still no response. Biting her lip, Uni gripped the doorknob. "I'm coming in."

Walking into Nepgear's room, Uni found no CPU Candidate inside. Instead, Uni found the closet open. However, instead of finding Nepgear's clothing, she found this circle of blue energy sitting in the center of the closet.

"What is…?" Uni walked over to the closet, a hum whirring as she got closer to it.

The energy was spinning towards the center of the circle. As Uni got close to it, she felt like something was pulling her towards it.

"What the heck is this thing?" Suddenly, Uni noticed that there was something on the closet door. There were three giant buttons. Each of them different color, the button on the top was purple and had the word CLOTHES on it. The next button was the color blue and had the word TELEPORTER on it. Finally, the last button was red and said NEPGEAR'S SECRET STUFF DO NOT TOUCH [NSFW and 18+].

Uni stared at the last button and narrowed her eyes.

" _That's way to obvious that I don't want to touch it."_ Inspecting the remaining buttons, Uni noticed that the blue button was pushed in more than the other two buttons.

"So…" Uni turned to the blue energy circle. "This thing is a teleporter…" The Lastation Candidate crossed her arms. "So if this thing's here, then Nepgear must on the other side…" Shrugging her shoulders, Uni reached out and put a hand into the portal. After not feeling any pain, Uni stepped through the portal.

When Uni walked out of the portal, she found herself in a large room with dark blue metal walls. Uni turned around to see that the portal was gone, leaving only a compartment as big as Nepgear's closet.

Sounds of metals grinding against each other and electricity zapping something faintly reached Uni's ears and the girl looked around to see a railing on the other side of the wall. Walking over to the railing, Uni glanced down to see that the room was two floors tall. There was only a single light on in the center of the room, leaving the corners and the rest of the room in darkness. At the bottom of the light was two objects, a blue motorbike, and the plane that Nepgear used: the Gear-Wing. Under the Gear-Wing, there were two legs wearing blue pants and red toolbox lying on the ground.

Seeing a pair of white sneakers, Uni leaned forward.

"Hey, Nepgear!" The feet twitched, and the body slid out from under the Gear-Wing to reveal Nepgear. The young man was wearing a dark blue one piece, that had white around the shoulders. The Planeptune Candidate waved.

"Uni~! Hi, take the elevator to your right!" Lying back down, Nepgear pulled himself under the Gear-Wing. Looking to her right, Uni found a black and yellow platform elevator where Nepgear said it would be. Stepping onto the platform, Uni pushed the blue triangular button pointing down and slowly descended to Nepgear's level.

As Uni got off of the elevator, Nepgear got to his feet and began to climb up the Gear-Wing. Once Uni reached the plane, Nepgear pushed a button and the cockpit opened up.

"Hey." Nepgear dropped into the cockpit and waved at Uni, using his other hand to spread his fingers and summon a holographic keyboard. "So… what are you working on?" Nepgear didn't move his head.

"Well, everything." Uni raised an eyebrow and kept silent. "So, you know whenever you summon a weapon it will always appear in your hands perfectly?" Uni climbed up to the wing, sitting down on the edge and letting her legs hang off of it.

"Yeah, why?" Nepgear nodded his head, continuously typing on the keyboard.

"It turns out there's a lot more to that system that I thought." Uni tilted her head to the side, watching Nepgear pull up a chart.

"Doesn't it just go to a storage or something?" Nepgear nodded his head before slightly tilting it to the side.

"That's what I thought too. However, there are two problems with summoning and recalling things as is." The Lastation Candidate scooted closer, being careful to accidentally cut her legs with the wings of the plane. "One being the positioning of the object, and any momentum given to the object at the moment of either being called or recalled."

"Hmm." Uni turned to the side, peering into the darkness.

"It turns out, with weapons and items, it's easier to program them into position, since they require less data to program into place. Also, in order to prevent any damage from being tossed around, all items and weapons are teleported to a specific case or mold to hold it still." Nepgear closed the chart and called up a diagram of his plane.

"That sounds complicated." Nepgear nodded, sighing.

"It is. And since I'm trying to add my plane into the system, it's difficult to do so." Uni blinked her eyes.

"Okay, I kinda get the positioning thing. But how did you figure out that you need to stop momentum?" Without a word, Nepgear snapped his fingers, turning on the remaining lights. Pointing behind him, Nepgear frowned. Uni followed Nepgear's direction to see that there was a huge dent in the wall. "Wh-"

"When I recalled the Gear-Wing during our first Quest, not only did it return upside down, it kept all the momentum it had from flying." Nepgear returned to typing. "And according to Histoire, it fell onto the ground. Then blew up." The Planeptune Candidate sighed, leaning forward. "Man… I basically had to rebuild this baby from scratch." A drop of sweat rolled down Uni's face, and the girl patted her companion on the back.

"That really sucks." Nepgear nodded. "That's like when I'm cleaning my guns, and it turns out one of the parts is broken or dented or something annoying like that." The Planeptune Candidate looked at his friend and smiled.

"That sounds hard." Uni scoffed.

"Probably not as much as this." The two friends laughed and Nepgear continued typing. Suddenly, Nepgear's D-pad pulsed a bright purple and began to shake. Pulling the hairclip off of his head, Nepgear twisted something on the back and placed into his ear. Uni's watched as a small purple screen appeared in front of Nepgear's eye. "Oh, sorry. I have to take this." Nodding, Uni turned away and tried to tune out Nepgear's conversation. "Oh, Histoire. Hello… Yes, I'm doing just fine… The Gear-Wing is getting some progress and- No, I haven't tried to use HDD yet." The young man glanced at his friend. "Uni? Yeah, she's right here. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay, I'll tell her. Yes, I'll take a break now. Okay, bye~." Nepgear pulled the earbud-hairclip hybrid off and turned to Uni.

"That was Histoire, right?" Nepgear nodded.

"Histoire wants to talk to you for a bit." Climbing out of the Gear-Wing, both Uni and Nepgear hopped off of the plane. "I'm gonna take a bath after I clean up here, so you can take the teleporter back to my room first." Walking over to the platform elevator, Uni waved at Nepgear before pushing the button.

As Uni rose up to the floor with the teleporter, Uni bit the inside of her cheek.

" _Oh, geez. What is Histoire going to tell me…?"_ Getting off the elevator, Uni walked back to what Uni could only call "a hole in the wall". " _Now how do I get back?"_ Looking around, Uni poked her head inside the compartment to see a button with a label that said PUSH THIS BUTTON IN ORDER TO GET BACK TO NEPGEAR'S ROOM. " _It's a good thing Nepgear's so simple."_ Pressing the button, the portal returned, this time the portal had an orange color.

"Okay…" Uni turned to the railing. "I'm heading back now!" Uni's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Alright!" Nepgear's voice faintly reached Uni. Nodding her head, Uni walked into the portal and appeared back in Nepgear's room. In the center of Nepgear's room, sitting on her floating tome, was Histoire.

"Hi, Histoire. Again." The Oracle smiled. "Did you need something?" Histoire nodded.

"Actually, they're for you." Histoire waved her hand and a data chip appeared on her palm. "Here, install this into your U-ta." Uni took the chip, tilting her head to the side. "This chip has some more information on the other three incomplete CPU Candidates. Read this so you can understand Nepgear a little bit more." As Uni nodded her head, Histoire turned around. "If you could please follow me."

"Huh, we could just talk here." Histoire smiled, a droplet of sweat rolling down her face.

"Yes, we could… on the fact that Nepgear will be taking a bath soon." Uni speed-walked out of the door. Histoire laughed awkwardly. "Shall we go to the living room?"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Uni and Histoire sat down in the living room, with Compa having served them tea since it was her day off. IF left to handle a Quest with Neptune. In reality, Neptune begged IF to go with her and the Guild Agent eventually gave in.

Histoire folded her arms in her lap.

"I just wanted to thank you about yesterday." Uni scratched her cheek, glancing to the balcony.

"About helping Nepgear? I-It was nothing…" Histoire turns to look down the hallway to Nepgear's room.

"Nepgear is really happy about having a friend," Histoire smiled at the Lastation Candidate. "And I heard that you offered to assist him attain HDD." Uncomfortable, Uni waved her hands in front of her face.

"I-I did, but seriously it doesn't mean a whole lot." Histoire shook her head.

"That 'whole lot' means more than you know. Having someone who's also a CPU Candidate as Nepgear's friend means that he can understand his own limits as well as learn about HDD without trying to transform himself." Uni nodded.

"I guess that's what I was going to do." Histoire looked relieved.

"I shouldn't have been so worried." The Oracle floated up and bowed to the Candidate. "Please, take your time to read the information given to you." Histoire pulled up a small screen. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go check on the Guild's map and see if it is up to date." Uni waved at the Oracle as she left the room.

Staring at the chip in her hand, Uni leaned over and sighed.

" _So this will everything I need to know, huh?"_ Craning her neck, Uni found that Compa was humming happily in the kitchen and Nepgear was nowhere to be found. " _Might as well take a look."_ Pulling out her U-ta, the Lastation Candidate inserted the chip. Installing the app, Uni opened the app to see that Histoire had organized the data into three files. " _First Fallen CPU: Rei Ryghts."_ Uni moved her eyes down towards the second file. " _Second Fallen CPU: Arfoire."_ Uni decided to press her thumb down on the third one. " _Let's look at this one… Third Fallen CPU: Kurome Ankokuboshi."_

After tapping the file, Uni saw that the document was in outline format.

* * *

 **Name: Kurome Ankokuboshi**

 **Position: 6th Generation CPU Candidate of Planeptune**

 **Status: Terminated**

 **Biography:**

 **Kurome was born with under 10% of Gamindustri's shares, marking the third CPU Candidate ever to be born with this disability.**

 **As with the other two Incomplete Candidates, Kurome exhibited similar traits: Weaker Resistance to Damage, Slow Recovery Rate, Unstable Mentality**

 **Kurome also had the most significant and detrimental trait: The Inability to Access HDD**

 **Kurome, like the other two Incomplete Candidates, struggled to accomplish what many other CPUs and CPU Candidates could do so on a regular basis. However, this did not discourage the Candidate at all.**

 **On the 22nd of the 5th month that she was born, the 7th Generation was beginning to arise. Desperate for approval, Kurome forced a HDD transformation.**

 **The transformation was complete, and the emergence of CPU Candidate Orange Heart was complete.**

 **As CPU Candidate Orange Heart, the new born goddess was able to keep the transformation stable with "a single minded focus" (CPU Candidate Orange Heart).**

 **Unfortunately, combined with the strain on the mind and Sharicite's rejection, Kurome could not keep the transformation intact. As a result, the Incomplete Candidate mutated into a monster, named "Dark Orange", and was terminated after a year of fighting.**

 **Kurome's destruction terraformed the land of Gamindustri, dividing and separating the remaining countries.**

* * *

"Woah…" Uni swallowed. "This is heavy stuff…" The Lastation Candidate closed the document and pressed on the first file, opening up another document.

* * *

 **Name: Rei Ryghts**

 **Position: 1st Generation CPU Candidate of Tari**

 **Status: Terminated**

 **Biography:**

 **Born during the 2nd Great Console War, Rei Ryghts was born as the CPU Candidate of Tari. However, the Candidate was different from other CPUs and CPU Candidates.**

 **Compared to other CPU Candidates, Rei showed fatigue earlier, exhibited malicious intentions whenever interacting with other CPUs and revealed signs of mental instability.**

 **Rei showed signs of struggling to approach the Sharicite created during the Candidate's birth, groaning and staying away from the Sharicite as much as possible. Another strange trait among CPUs.**

 **Because of the Candidate's aversion to the Sharicite, the current CPU of Tari forced the Candidate to transform in an attempt to shift the GCW in her favor. However, this caused the Candidate to mutate into a monster, named as the "Original Failure".**

 **As the "Original Failure", the Corrupted CPU destroyed nation upon nation, murdering a vast amount of CPUs and CPU Candidates. With the only remaining CPUs being the ones of Planeptune, Lowee, Leanbox, Lastation and the current CPU of Tari, the older sibling acted as a sacrifice to terminate the CPU Candidate.**

 **After the termination of Rei Ryghts, investigations were held to figure out what caused the CPU Candidate to become a monster. Not much evidence was found except that Rei Ryghts was born when Tari had ten percent of the world's Shares.**

* * *

"Geez…" Uni didn't even want to open the last file. But she had to. Taking a deep breath, Uni closed Rei's file and opened Arfoire.

* * *

 **Name: Arfoire of Lowee**

 **Position: 3rd Generation CPU Candidate of Lowee**

 **Status: Terminated**

 **Biography:**

 **Arfoire of Lowee was born under similar conditions as Rei Ryghts. However, the Great Console War had long ended and Lowee was under the rule of a kind and just CPU, who titled White Heart. As a result of the peaceful land, this CPU Candidate was treated with kindness and love.**

 **Arfoire, as such as her predecessors, exhibited strong magical prowess. In an attempt to protect this Candidate from Rei Ryghts' fate, the current CPU of Lowee trained her with strict discipline. At the same time, Arfoire was taught to love the people of Lowee and Gamindustri**

 **Arfoire faired much better than Rei Ryghts, living up to the end of her CPU's reign. When the CPU Candidate attempted to use HDD, the transformation was successful.**

 **However, despite her success, Arfoire could not maintain this transformation for more than three hours before losing consciousness and reverting back to her human form. Upon reverting, Arfoire would be bedridden for days on end.**

 **Unfortunately, the CPUs of Lastation and Leanbox feared Lowee's dominance over the world's Shares as they had just trampled over Planeptune and had taken most of their Shares. As a result, the two countries attacked Lowee and kept Arfoire and the CPU under siege.**

 **In order to protect the CPU, Arfoire transformed and disguised herself as the CPU, leading the other CPUs away from Lowee.**

 **The CPUs attacked and chased Arfoire for three days and nights, forcing the CPU Candidate to push herself to keep her HDD form.**

 **Despite Arfoire's love her CPU and her people being so powerful, the Candidate transformation mutated, turning into a monstrosity similar to Rei Ryght's "Original Failure". Dubbed the "Deity of Sin".**

 **As the "Deity of Sin", the CPUs had to work together to fend off the Corrupted CPU. In the end, a handful of the CPUs of the third generation, including the Saturn, the current CPU of Planeptune at the time, were sacrificed in order to terminate Arfoire.**

 **After Arfoire's termination, the remaining CPUs decided to name any Candidates that carried similar symptoms to the "Original Failure" and the "Deity of Sin" as _Incomplete Candidates._**

* * *

Uni closed the app and put her U-ta at her lap, sighing and leaning on the couch.

"That's…" Uni closed her eyes. "What Nepgear could become…" Pressing her fingers on her forehead, Uni rubbed her temples. "Wait!"

Uni pushed herself to an upright position, grabbing her U-ta and opening the files again.

"Although the first file is useless in terms of help, the other two…" Uni leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. "A single-minded focus, huh…" Looking at the bottom corner of the screen, the Lastation Candidate noticed that thirty minutes had passed. Since Nepgear was a guy, Uni guessed that he should be done with his bath right about now. Uni stood up, stuffing her phone into her pocket. " _But what could I get Nepgear to focus on…"_ Uni crossed her arms, walking down the hallway. " _Hmm… I wonder if Nepgear can love his people… No, he probably already does."_ Uni stopped in front of Nepgear's door, her hand on the doorknob. " _I'll just ask him."_

Clearing her throat, the Lastation Candidate leaned closer to the door.

"Nepgear, you in there?"

"Ah, Uni!" Nepgear's voice came in from the other side of the door. Nodding her head, Uni opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, Nepgear-" The first thing Uni saw was purple and white stripes, a pair of legs and a lot lavender hair. "Ah…" Nepear looked behind him, beads of water still stuck to his skin.

"Sorry I took so long in the bath, but I had to double check to calibration in the Gear-Wing." Uni's eyes were trained on one thing.

" _...Nice."_ Nepgear turned around, wearing only a pair of boxers. " _Oh gosh."_

"What's wrong, Uni?" Uni quickly looked up, seeing Nepgear's two pack abs and slightly toned body. "Uh… are you okay?" Uni stepped backwards, fanning herself.

"Y-Yeah, why?" Nepgear walked over to Uni, forcing the latter to turn away squeeze her eyes shut while pressing her lips closed. " _Clothes! Put on some clothes, please!"_ Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"You're really red." Nepgear gently touched Uni's face. "Do you want me to tak-" Inhaling sharply, Uni swiped his away.

"Put on some clothes, now!" Nepgear blinked, unaffected by Uni's retaliation.

"But I haven't dried my hair yet." Uni turned around, shut the door, and slammed her head against it, startling the Planeptune Candidate.

"Clothes! Now!" Nepgear nodded dumbly.

"O-Okay."

ↀ **Д** ↀ

After Nepgear had changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, Uni sat down and rubbed her forehead. Nepgear placed a tray holding a pitcher of iced tea and some glasses. Uni whipped her head towards the young man, glaring.

"How are you okay with people seeing you naked like that?!" Nepgear let out a small laugh as he filled the glasses.

"I wasn't naked, I was wearing my underwear." Uni stared at Nepgear, wondering if he had some form of mental disability thanks to his status as an Incomplete Candidate.

"No! Even if you're a guy, you need to have some modesty!" Uni grabbed her glass. "What would Neptune think?" And took a sip.

"But Neptune does that all the time when she gets out of the bath." Uni immediately spat out her drink. Sighing, Uni grabbed for the box of tissues that Nepgear summoned.

" _Well, that settles it. Neptune sucks as an influence on Nepgear."_ Suddenly, Nepgear brightened up.

"Uni, there was actually another reason why I wanted you to come here." Raising an eyebrow, Uni placed the tissue she was using on the table.

"And what would that be?" Grinning, Nepgear stood up and raised his hand. A crowbar appeared in his hands. Uni scrambled against her seat. "Wh-What are you-" Nepgear made a "sssh" sound and put a finger against his lips. Quiet, Uni watched Nepgear head over to his bed and climb the ladder.

As Nepgear vanished into his loft, Uni suddenly heard loud smacking noises and tensed up. The sound of something metal breaking startled the Lastation Candidate as she watched Nepgear hop off of his bed, carrying a black box instead of the crowbar.

"Here it is!" Nepgear trotted over to Uni, handing her the box. "A little something for being my friend." Uni felt the soft edges of the box, her face flushing.

"W-What, no! I don't deserve this just being your friend!" Uni tried to shove it back into Nepgear's hands, but the Planeptune Candidate closed her fingers around the box and gently pushed it back.

"Take it. You're going to love it." Glancing at the box, Uni sighed and opened the box. Inside was a white magnum and was given a purple highlight, taking the gun out of the box, Uni's eyes lit up.

"T-This is the N-Buster Mk I!" Nepgear nodded.

"Yuh-huh. And it's all yours!" Uni's eyes darted to Nepgear, getting wider and wider.

"No!" Uni shook her head, disbelief apparent. Nepgear, once again, nodded.

"Yep!" The Lastation Candidate stared at the N-Buster Mk I in her trembling hands.

" _N-No way, the N-Buster MK I… There are only two in existence. Well, one since one of them was destroyed by Neptune, but that doesn't matter! I have one! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh m-"_

"Uni?" The CPU Candidate shook her head.

"Uh-what?" Nepgear scratched the back of his head.

"You looked like you were about to go through an introduction or something." Shaking her head, Uni placed the N-Buster Mk I back in the box.

"What no I wasn't." Staring at the box, Uni smiled. " _Wow, I guess I really do mean a lot to him if he's giving me this."_ Uni turned to Nepgear and gave him an awkward smile. " _I guess it's better late than never to say this…"_ "Hey, Nepgear?" Nepgear was holding his glass of ice tea.

"Hm?"

"You're a great friend." An aura of flowers complimented Nepgear's smile. Putting down the glass, Nepgear scratched the side of his chin.

"Aw, gee. Thanks, Uni."

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 2** → **3 (Friend)**


	7. Confliction

Chapter 7: Confliction

* * *

"Take this! EX-Multi Blaster!" Uni pointed her rifle at a Tulip monster, obliterating it into nothing. Wiping her forehead, Uni surveyed the area.

The Lastation Candidate was in a forest within Planeptune called Virtua Forest. Tall oak trees and the remains of a ruined civilization surrounded Uni and continued on for miles, covering hills and rivers that weren't urbanized by nearby civilization.

Planeptune's Basilicom had received reports of monsters overpopulation the forest and threatening to move over to the residential area, which so happened to be where Compa's apartment was located. For the people's safety, Nepgear was dispatched to take on the Quest, but since Neptune was busy dealing with personal affairs, which was her skipping out on work while Compa and IF hunt her down, Uni was sent as Nepgear's support.

Relaxing her arms, Uni let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, this side is clear." Pulling the collar of her dress, Uni glanced around the area. The clearing she was standing was cut off in half by a combination of ruins and a river. However, when Uni first arrived, the area was swarming with monsters. "They weren't kidding about overpopulation." Pulling out her U-ta, Uni brought up the Quest Log.

 **Too Monsters, Many!**

 **Objective:** **Defeat 200 monsters (199/200 remaining)**

 **Reward:** **My gratitude (And some weapon part discount coupons and 3,000 credits)**

 **Monsters:**

 **Dogoo**

 **Tulip**

 **Dogoo-Man**

 **Boxer X**

 **Ancient Dragon**

Relaxing her shoulders, Uni closed the log and put away her U-ta. Suddenly, an ear splitting roar that caused some birds to scatter into the air. Turning to the sound, Uni slung her rifle over her shoulder.

"I guess Nepgear found the dragon…" Craning her neck, Uni walked towards the sound. " _I hope that he's doing fine."_ Suddenly, another roar erupted from the distance. " _Hmm… that didn't sound pained or anything…"_ Uni crossed her arms. " _Maybe I should ch-"_ The sound of leaves rustling interrupted Uni's train of thought and the CPU Candidate looked to the tree in front of her.

The bush of leaves began to shake harder and harder, until Nepgear flew out of the tree itself.

"Nepgear!" Uni stared in surprise as the young man flipped to an upright position, landing on his feet and sliding back a few feet. Nepgear dropped to a knee, grasping the back of his head. "Hey, are you alright?!" Uni ran to Nepgear's side, helping him to his feet. Nodding, Nepgear sucked in some air and took the Nep Bull SP that Uni conjured up.

"Yeah…" Taking a quick swig of the health-restoring energy drink, Nepgear turned to his friend. "Uni, you can kill an Ancient Dragon by stabbing it's eye right?" Uni blinked.

"No. It's supposed to blow up in a explosion of data and light." Nepgear looked at the tree that he flew through.

"Oh goodness…" Uni sighed.

"Lemme guess…" Claws ripped apart the trees in front of Nepgear and Uni, revealing a giant brown dragon. The monster, still having Nepgear's N-Saber deep within it's eye, roared in fury and reared it's head.

"I didn't kill it." Rolling her eyes, Uni readied her rifle.

"Alright, I'll distract it so you can get your weapon ba-" Nepgear snapped his fingers and his Gear-Saber materialized in his hand. At the same time, the Ancient Dragon shrieked, covering its eyes with its claws. "...Oh right, you can do that." Uni aimed at the Ancient Dragon's chest. "Okay then, any advice?" Nepgear moved into a battle stance.

"Despite how fleshy its chest looks, it's harder than the scales on its back." Uni nodded her head.

"Then we aim for the head!" The Ancient Dragon turned around and swung its heavy tail at the duo. Uni and Nepgear jumped away from each other, the former landing on the ground and the latter climbing up a tree. Claws free, the monster turned to Nepgear, its growls vibrating the forest.

Glaring at his opponent, Nepgear pulled himself into the tree as Uni shot the monster's jaw. Turning to Uni, the monster attempted to swipe at the girl, but Nepgear leaped out of the tree and drop kicked the dragon to the ground. As the Ancient Dragon landed on the ground, Uni held down the trigger.

"Eat this! X-" The Ancient Dragon opened its jaw and spat a ball of fire at the Lastation Candidate. Uni stood her ground, charging her weapon. A green energy ball from above intercepted and destroyed the fire ball. "-MB Empress!" Uni released the trigger and released a massive laser beam, engulfing the dragon's head. Once beam dissipated, Uni raised her rifle to her side and winked as Nepgear landed behind her.

The Ancient Dragon weakly raised its tail before falling limp. Engulfed in a bright light, the monster vanished. Uni turned around and opened the Quest Log, giving Nepgear a thumbs up while the young man made a fist pump.

"Nice." Uni said, putting away the log. "Didn't have as much trouble as I expected." Nepgear smiled, holstering his Gear-Saber's gun form.

"Well, we've done a lot of Quests since our first one." Nodding her head, Uni handed the log to her companion.

"That's true." Nepgear took the small scroll then pressed his pudding pin. A large bright light appeared next to the Candidates and Nepgear's Gear-Wing landed on the ground. Uni raised her eyebrows. "Hey, you finally got that thing to work." Nepgear chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah… oh, Uni. You wanna hang out?" Uni shrugged and walked over to the Gear-Wing.

"Sure, why not?" Excited, Nepgear climbed into the cockpit. Poking his head out, Nepgear waved at his friend. Grinning, Uni shook her head and slowly climbed up the vehicle. "Calm down, I'm not going anywhere."

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Nepgear flew Uni over to Planeptune's Basilicom, bringing her to Nepgear's Lab. Uni had been visiting this place for sometime, but she was still amazed by the structure of the area.

Nepgear's Lab wasn't just a giant garage or a single room, rather it was an entire floor in Planeptune's Basilicom. Nepgear's Lab was in the middle of Planeptower, having a main circular floor. In the center of the floor was the elevator and the rest of the floor was split in between four rooms. The largest of the four rooms, which was at least forty five percent of the entire floor, was the Testing and Training Area, which consisted of a firing range, a tatami mat room, a weight lifting room, and a simulation room that Nepgear installed fairly recently thanks to Uni's hel. The room next to the Testing and Training Area was the garage, which held twenty percent of the floor. The garage held Nepgear's Gear-Wing, some more of his inventions and machines, and the teleporter to his room. On the other side of the Testing and Training Area was the Break Room, which consisted of five percent of the entire floor. Inside the Break Room was a wall-sized window that revealed Planeptune's city skyline, a couch, a table and a flatscreen T.V. Although Nepgear doesn't really use this room, he felt like he needed to have it for anyone that happened to visit him when he was busy. Fourth and final room. Which took up fifteen percent of the entire floor, was the R&D Lab, where Nepgear would develop items or weapons for him and the others would try out. The rest of the floor's space was left for the elevator and corridors to walk through.

Uni and Nepgear were currently in the R&D Lab. The Lastation Candidate had made it a habit to come over to Nepgear's home whenever they finished a Quest together. While she was there, she would watch Nepgear work on new machines, work on the Gear-Wing and even train with him. Occasionally, the young girl would satisfy Nepgear's curiosity and tell him of her experiences in HDD mode and would scarcely transform to let Nepgear examine the form. Although she didn't like whenever Nepgear got handsy.

Uni was sitting on one of the clean workbenches behind Nepgear as the young man was working with a small robot he built himself and named Nepgeardam. The small robot looked exactly like Nepgear except with a cylindrical body, a box-shaped head, noodle-like limbs and macaroni hands. At the same time, Nepgeardam had this funny face that Uni saw Nepgear made once. Meanwhile, the actual Nepgear was wearing a white lab coat over his clothes while wearing a pair of glasses he got from Compa.

" _You know… if you didn't know he was a CPU Candidate, Nepgear could pass off as an attracti-"_ Biting her tongue, Uni hissed and knocked over a bundle of pipes near her arm. The metal tubes clanked against the floor, startling the CPU Candidate and causing him to punch Nepgeardam's head off. The young man flinched as the head bounced off the other side of the workbench.

"Ah! Aw… Now I have repair the head." Rubbing the back of his head, Nepgear turned around to see that Uni was frozen. "Hey, Uni?" Nepgear bent down to pick up the metal pipes.

"Wh- Huh?!" Nepgear placed the pipes next to Uni, while the young girl slid off the table. "What is it?"

"You okay? Pipes didn't hurt you or anything?" The concern on Nepgear's face caused the Lastation Candidate to turn a pinkish red and look away.

"N-No, I'm fine." Nepgear's concerned rose.

"You sure?" Nepgear stepped closer to his friend, touching his forehead with hers. Uni's words failed her as she tried to shove Nepgear away, but the Planeptune Candidate placed his hands on her shoulders. After a couple seconds, Nepgear pulled away, still worried. "Maybe you should check with Compa just to make sure." Uni turned away and leaned onto the nearby workbench.

"...Yeah." Smiling, Nepgear returned to his work. Exhaling loudly, Uni crouched and tightened her grip on the tabletop.

" _What was_ _ **that**_ _, Uni?"_ The Candidate put a hand against her heart, uncomfortable with the irregular beating coming from it. " _Seriously…"_ Getting to her feet, Uni placed her hand on a drawer to help herself up. " _It's like Nepgear has no idea that there's a difference between modesty and intimacy…"_ Uni consciously pulled open the drawer. " _I mean there's nothing wrong with that. It's not like there's anything going on between the two us. We're just friends, really."_ After calming herself down, Uni noticed a rolled up tube of blue paper with what Uni could tell was a diagram.

"Hey, Nepgear?" Nepgear gave the girl a questioning hum as Uni unrolled the paper. "Is this a blueprint?" Nepgear jammed Nepgeardam's head back on and was about to smack it with a hammer when he turned to Uni.

"Oh that?" Putting down his hammer, Nepgear walked over to see that Uni was staring at the blueprints of a pistol. "That was what was going to be my replacement for the N-Buster. I call it, the Gear-Buster!" Uni stared at Nepgear.

"Isn't that what you call your other weapon?" Nepgear shrugged.

"Yeah, I was working on the name still..." Uni examined the blueprints closely.

"You know…" Uni heard the footsteps of Nepgear turning back to Nepgeardam. "...this thing has a lot of flaws for a pistol." Nepgear nodded.

"Uh-huh. I wanted to make a pistol that could switch from rapid-fire to single shots." Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Like a submachine gun?"

"No, a rapid fire pistol, Uni." Uni rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyways, what happened to making it?" Knowing Nepgear, the young man never gave up on his creations unless i-

"Oh, it blew up in my hands every time I tried to test it." The Lastation Candidate's head darted towards the other Candidate.

"How?!" Nepgear began to screw in Nepgeardam's head back in.

"Well, remember that monster we fought during our first Quest?"

"Which one?"

"The robotic one that I punched and messed up my arm with." Uni's eyebrows bounced up and the girl turned to Nepgear.

"Epsilon?" Nepgear nodded.

"Yeah, it turns out their cores generate large amounts of energy." Uni looked back at the blueprints, seeing a crude picture of the robot's spherical core. "So, I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to use them in my weapons."

"And?"

"It overloaded the gun and blew up." Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"That happened on the first time?"

"All three times, I figured it out on the third attempt." Uni stared at her friend with an annoyed expression.

"Most people figure that out on the first try." Nepgear chuckled.

"Well, I hunted at least fifty of them to get those cores. So, I didn't want to give up." Uni held up the blueprints.

"Heeeh…" Uni glanced behind her. Nepgear was completely focused on Nepgeardam. " _Come to think of it, I haven't paid him back for the N-Buster yet."_ "Hey, Nepgear? Can I take these? I wanna try them out." Nepgear grinned and pushed Nepgeardam's face, causing its eyes to light up.

"Sure! I've given up on making it anyways." Rolling up the blueprints, Uni sent them to her storage in Lastation and looked at her U-ta to check the time.

"I should go home now." Uni patted Nepgear on the shoulder. "I'll call you for the next Quest, alright?" Nepgear wrapped his arms around Uni's waist and pulled the girl into a hug. "Wha-!?"

"Okay, see you later Uni~!" Nepgeardam, eyes still lit, began to shake violently. Nepgear let go of Uni and the young girl rushed out of the room. "See you tomorrow!" Uni waved, her cheeks a bit red.

As the door to the R&D room closed, Uni sighed.

"Sheesh, he really doesn't know the difference does he?" Suddenly, the sound of laser beams and Nepgear's scream erupted from the other side of the door. After the scream, an explosion shook the entire floor and caused Uni to stumble to her feet.

A comedic droplet of water ran down Uni's head as she turned to the door.

"Nepgear, you okay?" Uni could faintly hear a meek voice along with a fit of coughs.

"...Yes." Uni opened the door, black smoke poured out of the room. On the workbench where Nepgeardam was, there was a giant black smudge where Nepgeardam was, a small portion of the wall was covered with holes and Nepgear was climbing to his feet, coughing. Uni gave Nepgear her best "Really?" face.

"Did Nepgeardam explode?" Nepgear nodded with another cough. "You had a fourth Epsilon core, didn't you?" Nepgear coughed again. "...I'm going home, now. Later."

"B-" Another cough. "Bye, Uni~." Uni turned around and walked to the elevator. As she reached the elevator door, Compa and IF rushed out, turning to Uni.

"Uni, what happ-"

"Nepgear." The two nodded and rushed over. Uni waved at them and stepped into the elevator, crossing her arms.

" _Seriously, why does Nepgear's stuff always blow up?"_

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Landing on the balcony that led to her room, Black Sister reverted into Uni, sighing.

"What is wrong with me?" Rubbing her temples, the Candidate of Lastation stumbled into her room. Closing her windows, the girl pressed her forehead against the window pane. Exhaling in frustration, the young girl pushed herself off of the window and staggered over to her bed and collapsing on it.

" _I acted like a complete spaz today…"_ Rolling onto her back, Uni reached out for the ceiling. " _Nepgear and I are friends now… but it still doesn't feel that way to me…"_ Letting her hand flop against the soft bed, the Lastation Candidate stared at it wistfully. Pursing her lips, Uni was painfully aware of the empty, but beating feeling in her chest. " _I know I just left, but I kinda miss him."_ Tearfully closing her eyes, Uni sighed, listening to the sounds of Lastation's factories at work in the distance.

…

…

ↀ **Д-**

"WAIT A SECOND!" Uni pushed herself to an upright position. The young girl clutched her head, pulling her knees together. "WHAT AM I? NUTS!?" Uni kicked out her legs, tossing herself and the mattress in the air. "We're just _rivals_ \- No, wait we're friends." The Candidate scratched her cheek. "I gotta get rid of that habit…" Crossing her arms, Uni turns to the side to face one of her mirrors. "B-But, it's not like I want to see him all the time." Eyes widening, Uni slipped off of her bed in frustration and walked over to the mirror on her makeup table, leaning on the wooden structure.

" _What am I thinking?!"_ Squeezing her eyes shut, Uni's grip on makeup table. The image of Nepgear smiling appeared in the Candidate's mind, causing the girl and back away from the table.

Grasping her heart, Uni dropped to her trembling knees. Shivering, Uni looked to the side to see Nepgear with his lavender eyes staring back at her with the curious and innocent look they always had. Tensing up, Uni turned to the other side to see Nepgear in his labcoat and his hair tied up into a high ponytail, working hard on Nepgeardam until the bot fired laser beams and caused the young man to panic.

Pupils shrinking, Uni placed her hands over her ears. The painful sound of a heart beating stuck within her ears. Glancing downwards, Uni shook her head furiously.

"No! No! No!" Looking upwards, Uni froze in place as a damp Nepgear, fresh from the bath, sat in front of Uni cross legged. Wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, the young man's babyface smiled sweetly at his friend while the Candidate's eyes were filled with his toned body. Screaming like an embarrassed school girl, Uni scrambled away until her head hit her dresser.

"Ow…" Sitting in a more comfortable position, Uni looked around for any Nepgears. Sighing when none were found, Uni pulled herself and felt her heart. "Geez, maybe I should have gotten Compa to check on me," Pulling her hand through her hair, Uni kept a hand on her heart. "It's like I'm in lo-"

…

…

…

…

Uni sat there, hand against her heart. Doves flew by her window, catching the girl's attention. Getting up, Uni walked to the balcony. Opening the windows, the wind caressed Uni's hair and dress as the Candidate leaned against the railings.

"Oh, I see."

ↀ **Д** ↀ

Uni back on her bed, face smothered by her pillow. The girl closed all window and doors, and at the same time, drew all the curtains. Only a small speck of light penetrated through the curtains and landed on the girl's back. The sound of Uni's breaths filled the rooms. Raising her head, the Candidate rolled to her side, playing with one of her locks of hair.

"I get it now."

Uni raised her palm and summoned the blueprints that Nepgear gave her. Putting everything on her makeup table to the side, Uni unraveled the blueprints and held the corners down with tape. Raising her palm again, Uni summoned the N-Buster Mk I.

" _ **Here it is!"**_

" _ **A little something for being my friend."**_

" _ **Take it. You're going to love it."**_

" _ **Yuh-huh. And it's all yours!"**_

Uni let her fingers caress the weapon, exploring every inch of the weapon. Taking out the magazine, Uni examines the energy flowing through it before turning to the blueprints.

"So… you gave this to me as a friend." Uni felt something pluck at heart. "I guess I could step it up." Pulling out her U-ta and a pencil, Uni began scribbling down notes of parts that she could use and scratching out whatever didn't work in Nepgear's design.

"First of all, an Epsilon's core won't work at all." Uni then summoned a hologram of all the spare parts she had. "I have at least some of these parts… but some of them I might have to take apart some of my guns…" Biting her lips, Uni's eyes wavered as she stared at the blueprints.

"Rrrrrgh…" Lowering her head, Uni sucked in air and clenched her fist. "...Gotta look up how much the parts cost." Grabbing her U-ta, Uni typed in the parts' names and cringed at the prices that she saw. "U gh, not even with my CPU Candidate discount that'd be way too much." Uni glanced to the side. "Well, the CPU Candidate discount doesn't really take off much anyways." Uni turned to the blueprints again.

"I'll take the parts off. Not like I'm going to use them… but…" Uni growled gripped the N-Buster Mk I, Nepgear's excited face entering Uni's mind again. "Augh, alright! Alright!" Scratching her head, the Candidate picked up her pencil again and began redesigning Nepgear's blueprints.

"Most of the problems comes from the internal design rather than the outside..." Muttering to herself, Uni grabbed a piece of paper and began to rewrite Nepgear's pistol with Uni's alterations.

An hour later, Uni was able to replicate Nepgear's pistol design.

"Geez, why was that so hard to draw?" Exhausted, Uni walked out of her room with a list of the parts she needed to take and walked over to the storage area, where the rest of her babies were kept.

As she was walking down the hallway, Noire walked out of the rooms, struggling to carry a large stack of papers.

"Ah, Noire!" Uni stuffed the list in her pocket and quickly glided over to her sister's side and took half of the documents. "Here, let me help." Losing some of the burden, Noire sighed in relief.

"Phew, thanks Uni." The girl shrugged. "I really needed it."

"Of course." Noire smiled. "Where are we taking these to?" The CPU gestured down the hall.

"To my office." Uni nodded and the sisters began their way to down the hall. Uni glanced down to the list in her pocket. "Hey, Uni?"

"Hm?" Uni narrowed her eyes, focusing on the picture of the weapon in her head.

"You've changed a lot ever since you've become Nepgear's friend." Uni perked up at the mention of her companion's name.

"Huh?" Noire smirked.

"I mean it." Uni looked at her sister as the latter began to reminisce. "Not too long ago, you would always follow close behind me. Never wanting to leave my side." With each word, Noire stood up straighter and straighter. "As much as I don't want to say this considering who's his sister, Nepgear's a good influence on you." Uni's cheeks flushed as she nearly lost her grip on her papers.

"W-What, no!" Uni shifted the papers to cover her face. "I'm more of an influence on Nepgear!" Uni's face got redder. "I mean, he does help me train and all… And- Augh!" Noire giggled, stopping in front of the door.

"Thanks, Uni." Noire snatched the papers from her little sister and merged them with her own. "I'll take it from here."

"But-" Noire rolled her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry. I can make it to my desk with this." Noire turned to the door, realizing that both of her hands were full. "Uh…" Without another word, Uni opened the door. The Candidate raised an eyebrow. "Sorry… Now I'm good." Noire carried her papers inside and Uni closed the door.

Turning away from the door, Uni continued her way to the storage room.

" _Hmm… What should I take apart for the submachine- pistol?"_ Crossing her arms, Uni dodged any staff and personnel that almost bumped into her.

" _Maybe I can pull apart my extra rifle…"_ The girl walked down a flight of stairs, ignoring the surprised gasp of a female attendant. " _...but then that one's got the ultra limited scope that can zoom in three times as far!"_ Groaning, Uni opened the door to the storage and sighed.

"Well, better get started."

After a couple of hours searching through her spare parts and dismantling her beauties for whatever else she needed, Uni stepped out of the storage with a small box. Sniffling, Uni turned around to see her depleted collection. With a sigh, Uni shifted the box to a comfortable position and started back to her room.

Upon returning to her room, Uni scattered the parts all over her bed and looked at the new blueprints she made.

Cracking her fingers, Uni stretched her neck and exhaled.

"Alright let's do this…"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

"Uni?" Noire gently pushed open the door, her head barely poking through the door. "Dinner's read-" The CPU of Lastation paused upon seeing her little sister sleeping on her bed, gun parts strewn around her. Upon seeing a small black box in Uni's hands, Noire put her hands at her hips, grinning. "At least tell me if you're busy."

Picking up the extra parts and putting them into the small box near Uni's bed, Noire placed the small box on Uni's bedside table and tucked the girl into bed. Turning off the lights, Noire smiled and slowly closed the door.

"Good night, Uni."

Uni rolled around, curling her arms around a nearby pillow. The girl nuzzled the pillow and sighed happily.

"..pgea…" A satisfied giggle.

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 3** → **4 (Friend?)**


	8. To Lowee

Chapter 8: To Lowee, and the SUPER AWSOMAZING SUPER NINTENLAND

* * *

"Uni, do you have everything you need?" The girl walked out onto the balcony that led out of Noire's office, shouldering her bag. Uni nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'm good." Uni felt the square object she spent so much time on, making sure it was wrapped carefully and that nothing would ever crush the box or dent it in any fashion, and sighed in relief. "Are we really going to Super Nintenland, Noire?"

Uni's older sister nodded, putting her hand through her hair.

"Yeah, we'll be meeting up with Blanc and Vert at the gates." Uni blinks her eyes.

"Hmm…" Uni had met Vert before, since Noire and Vert collab once in awhile. However, she had yet to meet Blanc. All she knew was that she was the CPU of Lowee, and from Neptune and Noire, that she likes to read and gets angry easily.

Suddenly, the approaching roar of an engine cut off Uni's thoughts and she looked up to the sky. The all too familiar white and purple jet, Nepgear's GearWing, flew over to the balcony, stopping above it and landing on the ground nearby Uni and Noire.

The cockpit opened up, and a not as wild as usual Neptune appeared as she popped out and waved at the Lastation sisters with both of her arms.

"Nowa-chan! Uni! Hurry up!" Noire stamped her feet and clenched her fists, leaning forward to glare.

"Don't call me that!" Sighing, the CPU grabbed her forehead. "Whatever, we're coming." Uni gripped her bag tighter and walked over to the jet, climbing in without the need for Neptune's arm. Neptune shuffled to the back to reach out to Noire, while Uni looked inside to see Nepgear sitting at the pilot's seat, staring at a video in his N-Gear.

"Hey." Nepgear looked up, grinning from ear to ear upon seeing his best friend. Locking his electronic, Nepgear shoved it into his pocket and waved at Uni.

"Hi, Uni! How are you?" Uni climbed into the seat next to Nepgear, pushing her bag into the roomy compartment near her feet.

"I'm alright." Neptune leaned over Uni's seat, pressing her head on Uni's.

"I guess I'll sit back here." Uni's eyes widened.

"Uh, I'm so-" Neptune patted the Candidate's head.

"Aw, don't worry your silly little head. I'll just snuggle up to Noire or something." Uni could hear Noire stiffen in her seat. Neptune made a grin. "Speaking of which…"

"GET OFF ME!" A drop of sweat rolled down Nepgear's face as he heard his and Uni's sister fight and wrestle in the back.

"S-Sorry about Neptune, she's been excited about this for a while." Uni rolled her eyes.

"I get it. Anyways, we ready to go?" Nepgear nodded, raising his hands. A holographic keyboard appeared under the young boy's hands. Typing a bunch of keys, the keyboard disappeared and a joystick appeared in its place. As the joystick appeared, the cockpit closed shut, shutting up Neptune and Noire in the process.

"Mhm. Neptune, Noire. Are you all ready?" Neptune tossed her arm into the air.

"Yep. Yep. Yep! All ready and willing!" Noire scoffed.

"I'm all set, Nepgear." Smiling, Nepgear turned to Uni, who had just put her seatbelt on. Nodding to Uni, Nepgear grabbed onto the joystick, causing the GearWing to jump into the air.

"Alright, let's go!" The thrusters flared alive and Nepgear steered the plane towards the north, to Lowee. The GearWing blasted through the Lastation skyline and flew towards its destination.

After a couple minutes of juggling with the joystick to keep the plane straight and safe, Nepgear pressed a few buttons and let go of the joystick. Leaning against his seat, Nepgear sighed and placed his hands on his lap.

"Phew, auto-pilot is now in place." Nepgear turned to Uni. "It should be at least thirty minutes up to an hour until I have to take control again. If we're lucky." Uni shrugged her shoulders. "So, anything you wanna talk about?"

Uni pursed her lips, closing her eyes and listening to the constant, now quieter, roar of the engine. Suddenly, the seat behind Nepgear squeaked as the CPU behind him relaxed against the seat.

"Nepgear," It was Noire's voice. "This fighter jet is really comfortable." Nepgear smiled. "How did you get it?"

"Oh, the GearWing? It's actually an Uber Ultra Dimensional Destroyer Loweean Regular Lateral Rolling Battle Air-fluid Starfighter jet. Although the Dimensional Destroyer part has yet to be proven true." Uni stared at him.

"That's a mouthful." Nepgear nodded.

"It really is." Uni glanced at the bag at her feet, then to the young man beside her. Nepgear had slightly lowered his chair, allowing him to lie on his back. Nepgear had closed his eyes and folded his hands over his stomach. Pressing her lips together, Uni parted them and leaned forward slightly.

"He-"

"Wha- Neptune get off me!" Uni stiffened, looking over her shoulder. The CPU in question had fallen asleep, landing on Noire's shoulder. Neptune was beginning to drool and Noire was quickly pulling away. The lavender haired CPU slipped off of Noire's shoulder, landing on her lap. Arms up in the air, Noire's lips and fingers twitched as Neptune dozed away.

Uni whipped her head to Nepgear, who was staring out of the cockpit. The clouds were speeding by, reminding Uni of the bullet train that she took whenever there was a gun convention, Lastulet. The girl reached out, her fingers almost touching Nepgear's shoulder.

Suddenly, Uni felt her heart tighten and pulled away, placing her bag between her legs. The young girl lowered her head, biting her lip.

" _Why did I chicken out like that?! I'm such an idiot!"_

Glancing back at Nepgear, Uni stealthily took a deep breath.

"Hey." Nepgear turned his head towards Uni, smiling.

"What is it, Uni?" Uni broke eye contact. Gripping her elbow, Uni pressed herself against her chair.

" _I don't even have anything to talk about- Why did I…?"_

Nepgear blinked his eyes, tilting his head to the side and raising an eyebrow.

"Uni?" The young girl flinched.

"Y-Yeah?" Nepgear peeled himself off of his chair and leaned a little closer to Uni.

"You okay?" Conscious of the gap between them, Uni slid farther away in her chair.

"I-I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Nepgear hummed and pursed his lips, closing his eyes. Uni's eyes bugged out.

" _I-Is he… inviting me to-"_ A quick beep came from Nepgear's side and the young man immediately flew back to his seat and pushed a couple of buttons before a holographic screen popped out.

"State your alliance." In the holographic screen was a stern-looking woman with a white military cap on her head. Nepgear cleared his throat.

"Friendly." Uni felt herself shrink back upon hearing the woman's voice.

"Your purpose?" Nepgear just smiled.

"Just flying through to reach Super Nintenland." The woman nodded.

"Before I can permit you to fly further, may I see your pilot's licence?" Nodding, Nepgear reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ID card with Nepgear's face on the corner. Holding it up to the screen, the woman nodded. "One moment please." The screen released a beam that was as wide as the card. The beam moved up and down the card until Nepgear's picture appeared on the screen. "Ah, there it is. Thank you, Mr. Nepgear. Please have a nice day."

Nepgear bowed to the screen.

"Thank you." The screen blipped out. Uni was staring at the ID card in Nepgear's hand.

"Huh, you really are a pilot." Nepgear grinned and held out the card to Uni.

"Uh-huh." Uni took the ID card and examined it. "If it wasn't for Blanc, I wouldn't have gotten this license, or my dash boots!" The young man scratched his cheek. "Now that I think of it, I owe her for giving me all this mobility." Nepgear reclined onto his seat. A smile curved his lips up. Meanwhile, his eyes chased after the clouds that flew by. Uni noticed that Nepgear's license was issued a few years ago.

"Hey, when did you start training to be a pilot?" Nepgear broke away from his chase to look at his friend.

"...Uh, about…" Nepgear squeezed his eyes shut, one of his eyebrows twitching as he began to count with his fingers. "Five years?" Nepgear stared at Uni.

"...Why are you asking me that? I don't know." A drop of sweat rolled down Nepgear's cheek and he turned to look behind him.

"Sis, when di- She's asleep." Nepgear turned back to Uni. "Let's go with five years." A drop of sweat rolled down Uni's face as the young girl narrowed her eyes.

"Aren't you carefree?" Nepgear chuckled.

"Maybe a little bit." Uni's eyes narrowed further.

"That was a rhetorical question." Nepgear blinked.

"Ah. W-Was it?" Uni sighed. Glancing away, Uni looked outside. The clouds zoomed by. "Uni?" Uni pressed her legs against her bag and her face heat up. "Uni, are you there?"

" _At least you're honest with yourself…"_

"Uni? ...Uni? UNIIIIII-"

"What!" The girl whipped her head back to Nepgear, who looked relieved.

"I thought you weren't feeling well." Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you think-" Nepgear leaned forward, grabbing Uni's shoulders and pressing his forehead against hers. "-Eh." Nepgear closed his eyes.

"Hmm…" Uni's face began to turn a deep red. "You're not sick…" Uni began to tremble. "Huh? Now you're heating up…" Squeezing her eyes shut, Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders, knocking the young man's hands off of her shoulders.

"G-Get off!" Nepgear flew back into his seat, blinking his eyes rapidly. Uni sat up straight, grabbing her chest. There was a fast and powerful thumping against her hand. Nepgear stared at his friend, who was breathing heavily.

"Uni?"

"...What?" Nepgear reached into a compartment near him, pulling out a small medicine bottle labeled _Yums._

"Heartburn?" Uni's right eye twitched.

"No!"

ↀ **Д** ↀ

The Gear-Wing stopped above the parking lot, where four figures stood in the center. Three of the figures were small in stature. The tallest, and oldest, of the three wore a white poofy hat over her brunette hair and a large white and blue fur coat over a white sleeveless shirt-dress. The other two were shorter than her, wearing blue and pink versions of other girl. The fourth figure, who towered over the other three, wore a bright green and white dress that accented her long blonde hair. However, the fourth figure wasn't dressed as warmly as the others. The girls in green and white waved over to the Gear-Wing as it slowly touched down onto the ground.

"They waited for us." Nepgear pushed a button near his side, causing the cockpit's door to lift open. The Planeptunian Candidate looked over his seat. "Sis, Noire. We're here." Nepgear received replies of mumbles and groans. Standing and stretching his limbs, the young man turned to his friend. "Let's go."

Grabbing her bag, Uni nodded and climbed out of the Gear-Wing. As she tossed a leg over the metal bird, Uni let out a satisfying grunt as her legs got to move. Glancing to the side, the young girl saw her companion hop into the air and dash off the jet. Nepgear then flipped forward and dropped out of Uni's line of sight. Although Uni heard a thump and a couple of claps. Uni rolled her eyes. " _Showoff."_

Uni hopped off of the aircraft to see Blanc and Vert, the CPUs of Lowee and Leanbox respectively. The young girl could hear her sister trying to toss Neptune off of the Gear-Wing as Vert and Blanc approached her.

"Uni," Vert made a bright smile as she walked over to Uni. She also made a small giggle upon seeing Neptune and Noire still in the plane. "I'm delighted that you were able to come along." Uni bowed to the CPU.

"Thanks for inviting us, Ve-" Uni's words- along with her face- were stuffed into Vert's chest.

"Oh don't worry about it. It's the older sister's job to make her sibling's lives enjoyable!" Noire landed on the ground, dusting herself in annoyance.

"Hey, Vert." Vert nodded to her companion. "Don't hug Uni too hard, she's not really used to-" Noire was cut off by a sudden, Neptune-shaped, bomb that hit her square on the head. As Vert was caught off guard, Blanc jabbed Vert in the side. Yelping in surprise, Vert released Uni and Blanc yanked the former away.

"Oh, Blanc please!" The CPU in question scoffed.

"You already bury Nepgear and the twins, don't need to add another." The blonde CPU grabbed Blanc by the shoulders and shook her.

"Then let me hug Rom and Ram." Blanc shook her head.

"No." Vert pouted.

"Then Nepg-" Blanc narrowed her eyes.

"No." Vert pursed her lips, and then grinned.

"How about you?" Blanc paused, glancing away.

"..." Vert creeped over Blanc, arms outstretched and finger grasping.

"Blanc onee-chan~, look look!" Blanc ducked under Vert's clutches, heading over to the cheerful voice.

"Yeah, yeah." As Vert faltered, the CPU placed her hands on her hips and huffed. A smile quickly overcame disappointment as she watched Blanc walk away. Vert glided over to Neptune.

"Neptune," The CPU of Planeptune was in a daze, but snapped out of it when Vert reached out a hand. "How was the flight?"

"It was totally worth caving to Nep Jr.'s begging." Neptune looked around. "Where's Lady Lonely Heart?" Vert pointed where Neptune sat. "Oh, so that's why the ground was soft." Neptune kneeled next to the unconscious Noire, poking her over and over again.

Uni was, for lack of a better word, overwhelmed by the sudden personalities that she just met. Stepping back from Neptune and her eventual scolding by her sister, the young girl began to look around for Nepgear. Following the path Blanc took, Uni walked around the Gear-Wing.

From where she was, Uni could only hear that cheerful voice called Blanc over. As she moved further away, the young girl could now hear more voices, Blanc's and Nepgear's. Once Uni reached the other side of the Gear-Wing, she found Nepgear in a situation.

Nepgear was currently carrying the pink twin on his shoulders, who was grabbing him by the head and pointing forward.

"Go, Nepgear! Ride like the wind!" The blue twin stood nearby Nepgear, worried.

"Ram, be careful." Blanc was currently trying to pull Ram, the pink twin, off of Nepgear.

"Ram, get off Nepgear before you break his neck." Nepgear scratched his cheek.

"I-It's okay, Blanc. Really." Blanc noticed Uni and turned to her.

"Oh hey, the Lastation kid." Uni narrowed her eyes.

"Don't wanna hear that from you." Blanc grunted.

"Hmph, that's new. By the way, name's Blanc. CPU of Lowee." Uni bowed.

"Oh, thanks for inviting me and Noire here." Blanc nodded.

"Don't mention it. To be honest, I _was_ going to kick your ass for calling me a kid." The CPU motioned to Ram. "But I have more annoying things to deal with. That, and I'm in a good mood. So I'll let it slide." Uni blinked.

"...Right, I'll keep that in mind." Uni glanced away. " _I guess I should be careful."_ Uni turned to Nepgear, who was shaking under Ram's ever-shifting weight. Walking over to Nepgear, Uni crossed her arms. Shifting her weight to one leg and raising an eyebrow, Uni smirked at Nepgear's position. "Having fun?" Nepgear tried to scratch his cheek, but Ram's consistent bouncing forced him to keep both hands on her.

"It's not that difficult… really." Blanc pulled a pouting Ram off of Nepgear, allowing him stretch his neck. "The hard part is dealing with a sore neck." Uni raised an eyebrow. Nepgear felt something tug at his shoulder. Turning around, the young man saw Blanc looking up to him.

"I'll be leaving the twins in your care for a bit." Nepgear nodded.

"Of course, leave them to me!" Blanc made a quiet noise and turned to the twins.

"Rom. Ram. Don't cause too much trouble for Nepgear." Blanc looked at Uni. "And no pranks on Uni either." Ram's pout got poutier. Rom nodded bashfully. Blanc then turned to the duo. "By the way, leave your weapons in Nepgear's jet." Uni raised an eyebrow.

"O-Okay…?" Blanc shook her head, sighing and looking past the Gear-Wing.

"You'd never think an idiot would attack an amusement park mascot with a katana." Blanc's eye twitched. "But it happened." Nepgear scratched his cheek.

"Sorry about that…" Uni whipped her head to Nepgear, eyes wide. Blanc waved it off.

"It's fine. Just keep your idiot sister's hands away from the goddamn peach stall." A droplet of swat has rolled down the Planeptunian Candidate's cheek.

"My sister's not an idiot!" Nepgear stepped forward, but stepping back immediately. "She's just… slow?" Nepgear glanced at Uni, who made an "X" with her arms. Blanc rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just stuff her sword in the jet already." Blanc walked towards a ticket booth.

"O-Okay." Nepgear turned to see Noire pull his sister's face. After staring for a second, Nepgear looked at his friend and smiled. "I'm gonna grab our sisters' weapons real quick." Uni nodded as Nepgear headed over to the CPUs.

Once Nepgear was gone, Uni felt two pairs of eyes staring into the back of her head. Turning around, Uni found Ram, and Rom behind her, staring straight at her. Uni glanced to the side.

"Uh…" Uni gave an awkward smile. "Hi?" Ram blinked as Uni gave the twins a quick wave. Rom gripped onto her sister a little tighter.

"Hey!" Uni stepped back, putting her hands in front of her. Ram pointed at her. "Are you Nepgear-nii's girlfriend?" Uni froze. Rom shook her sister lightly.

"Ram-chan, you can't say that." The blue twin said. "Nepgear Onii-chan doesn't want us to know that." Ram pouted.

"B-But, Nepgear-nii keeps talking about Uni-chan all the time! She has to be his girlfriend!" Uni backed up, her face heating up. Suddenly, the girl felt something soft and round against the back of her head. Turning her head, Uni found two mounds attached to a smiling Vert.

"A-Ah, sorry Vert." The CPU of Leanbox giggled and shook her head.

"Oh no, don't mind me." The CPU leaned closer to Uni. "If I may ask, what is your relationship to Nepgear?" Uni held her hands in front of her, backing up again.

"I-I-I…" Uni bumped into someone else.

"Hey, Uni." Turning around again, Uni found herself face to face with her crush. "So you've met with the twins and my master?" Furrowing her eyebrows, Uni used this question to avoid answering Ram and Vert and coughed into her fist.

"Master?" Nepgear pointed at Vert. "Why would you need a master?" Nepgear rubbed the back of his head.

"W-Well…" Vert coughed.

"Oh right, did you need something Vert?" The woman handed Nepgear four tickets.

"Here you are." Vert gestured to Blanc, where Noire was dragging Neptune towards the entrance and the Loweean CPU followed them. "We've agreed to split up here and meet up at the food court for lunch." Nepgear grabbed the tickets and nodded.

"Thanks Vert!" Nepgear handed a ticket to Uni. "Here you go, Uni." Nepgear waved the rest of the tickets towards the twins. "Rom! Ram! Let's get going!"

Uni stared at the ticket. It was a thin strip of paper with a dotted line meant to be ripped off. The rest of the ticket had a picture of the amusement park that was slightly obscured by the name of the tower: SUPER NINTENLAND _Woohoo!_

Uni turned towards Vert, still staring at her ticket.

"Thanks Vert, we'll see yo-" Uni glanced up to see that Vert was gone. "Eh? Vert?" Uni glanced out, finally seeing the CPU already at the entrance with the older sisters. "How did…?" Blinking, Uni shook her head. "I guess we'll head in no-" Uni turned back to see that Nepgear was chasing after Rom and Ram, holding up their coats.

"Rom, come on! Let's go!"

"Ram, wait!"

"Rom! Ram! You forgot your coats!" Putting her hand on her head, Uni noticed three strips of paper on the floor. Picking them up, Uni's eyes widened upon seeing three Super Nintenland tickets.

"Wha-!?" Scooping up the tickets and holding them up in the air, Uni chased after the trio. "Nepgear wait! You dropped the tickets!"

 **(ↀ** **Д** **ↀ)**

"Geez… How could you drop the tickets?" Uni crossed her arms, standing beside Nepgear. The two were waiting for Rom and Ram to get into the park because they got in line without tickets and were pushed further back in line.

"S-Sorry…" Nepgear scratched his cheek. Uni stared at the entrance.

"Why would those two think that they could enter an amusement park without tickets?" Nepgear chuckled.

"From what I heard, the twins come here often and they think they can get a free pass since they're CPU Candidates." Uni raised an eyebrow, shifting her weight to the side.

"Really?" Nepgear nodded.

"Apparently it's worked so well, that the park wants them to get actual tickets from now on." Uni blinked twice.

"...Huh." At that moment, Rom and Ram ran towards the duo. Nepgear waved as they got closer.

"Rom! Ram! Where do you wanna go?" Rom put her hands on her cheeks.

"I wanna go everywhere!" Ram threw her hands into the air.

"Let's go on a rollercoaster!" The pink CPU Candidate pointed behind Nepgear and Uni. "That one first! That one!" Nepgear and Uni turned around to see a humongous rollercoaster behind them. Uni watched the coaster rise up to the top of the ride and immediately drop down. Uni glanced at Ram.

"The biggest one first?" Ram bounced up and down.

"Mega Maryo Galaxies is soooooo much fun! I have to ride it every time!" Uni shrugged and turned to Nepgear.

"Shall we go- Nepgear?" Nepgear's skin turned pale, and the young man was shivering slightly. "Nepgear?" Nepgear snapped out of his trance and quickly looked at Uni.

"Hu-Huh what?" Nepgear grabbed his trembling arm, causing his entire body to shake instead. Uni furrowed an eyebrow.

"Are.. you okay?" Nepgear's eyes darted between the ride and the ground.

"Y-yeah! I'm great! ...Yeah." Shrugging her shoulders, Uni followed the twins as they headed towards the coaster's line.

Nepgear stared as roller coaster. Upon seeing the coaster zoom through the rails, Nepgear swallowed.

"Oh this isn't going to be-"

 **(ↀ** **Д** **ↀ)** **(ↀ** **Д** **ↀ)** **(ↀ** **Д** **ↀ)**

"I don't understand." Uni shook her head, her hand against her face. Ram was fixing her hair as Rom rubbed Nepgear's back. The young man was kneeling in front of a trash can, head inside. The fate of Nepgear's stomach echoing from the trash can. "You fly a jet-plane-thing." Uni gestured towards Nepgear, exasperated. "Your sister _carries_ at speeds _faster_ than that ride. How can you get _motion-sickness!?_ "

Nepgear puked.

"It's okay, Nepgear Onii-chan. You'll be okay." Nepgear groped around until he was able to he patted Rom's shoulder. Pulling his head out of the trashcan, Nepgear wiped his face with the face-towel Rom had in her hands.

"I-I don't know… I just get motion sick every time I come here." Nepgear leaned against the trashcan. "I think I'm going to wash my face real quick." Taking Rom's face towel, Nepgear stretched his neck and walked off. "You guys just have some fun for now." Ram waved at Nepgear as he supported his stomach.

"Bye-Bye Nepgear-nii!" Rom cupped her hands over her mouth.

"We'll meet you at the food court later!" Nepgear waved the towel. Uni was reminded of a white flag as Nepgear retreated towards the restrooms. Rom and Ram ran in front of Uni, putting their hands behind each other and smiling.

"...What?" The twins glanced at each other, then at Uni. "What?" Rom grabbed Uni's right hand while Ram grabbed her left. "H-Hey!"

"Come on Uni-chan!" Ram tugged the CPU Candidate towards more rides. "Let's go!" Rom nodded her head.

"Mhm." Rom pointed towards some mushrooms spinning around in a circle. "I wanna ride that!" Uni resisted with all her might, but the combined might of the twins and along with their energetic adorable smiles, the girl was helpless.

"Okay! Okay! Just don't yank off my arms!"

Once the girls reached the line, the twins released their prisoner and got in line. Uni followed them, raising her head to stretch her neck and see what ride they had chosen to ride.

Uni glanced at the sign above her and could barely see the word _Mushie_. Staring ahead, Uni could see that the ride was made out of giant mushrooms. People would climb into the mushrooms and spin a wheel in the center, causing the fungus to spin faster.

"Uni-chan! Uni-chan!" The CPU Candidate looked down to see Rom staring at her with sparkling eyes.

"Y-Yeah?"

"What are your favorite rides?" Uni shrugged.

"I don't really have a favorite ride." The CPU Candidate of Lastation crossed her arms. "Hmm… maybe those rides where you get to shoot stuff." Rom blinked her eyes.

"Wow, you can do that stuff?" Rom's eyes widened as she put her hands up to her chest. Uni scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah, guns are my hobby." Rom tilted her head to the side.

"Hobby?" Uni nodded.

"You know, the thing you like to do a lot." Rom lit up.

"I… I like to draw!" Seeing Rom's eyes, Uni smiled.

"That great!" Rom made a sweet smile. Suddenly, Ram latched onto her sister and grabbed Uni at the same time.

"Hey! Don't be dummies and stand there! The line's moving!" Ram dragged the two further down the line, stopping when they were near gate. Rom's lip quivered as she held her twin's hand.

"S-Sorry Ram…" Ram flinched. Making eye contact with Uni, the black-haired girl could see guilt in the brunette's eye. Ram coughed into her fist and turned around.

"F-Fine. I just wanna ride all of the rides, that's all." Rom smiled.

"Ram." The blue CPU Candidate hugged her sister, causing Uni smile. Ram turned to Uni.

"Hey, you." Uni blinked. Ram let go of Rom and stood in front of the young girl. After a second of staring into Uni's eyes, Ram grinned and patted her on the arm. "Alright, let's go!" The twins turned their attention to the line. Meanwhile, Uni raised an eyebrow.

"What… was that?" The employee opened the gate and allowed a handful of people, including Uni and the twins, into the ride. Uni followed the twins to a giant pink mushroom. Climbing into the fungus, Uni strapped herself to the circular seat while the twins did the same. Ram grabbed onto the wheel in front of her and turned to Uni.

"Come on, grab it!" Uni stared as Ram when her sister gently touched the wheel. Rolling her eyes, Uni grabbed onto the wheel and relaxed into the seat as much as she possibly could. Meanwhile, Ram was literally on the edge of her seat. "This is gonna be SUPER AWESOME!" The pink brunette's legs bounced erratically.

"Ram, calm down." An alarm went off, causing the all of the mushrooms to slowly move in a circle. Ram began to turn the wheel with all her might. Rom attempted the same. However, neither of them could turn the wheel. Watching the twins struggle, Uni twisted the wheel with ease. Rom and Ram were surprised and let go of the wheel. Uni began spinning the wheel faster and faster.

"Whoa!" Uni raised an eyebrow. Ram waved her arms at Uni. "Come on! Come on! Spin it more!" Glancing at Ram for a second, the Candidate continued to spin the wheel. Ram threw her arms into the air while Rom gripped onto herself. "Wheee~!"

"Eeeeep!" Ram and Uni's hair flew as the momentum pushed wind at them. Ram eventually resorted to laughing while Rom squeezed her eyes shut. Uni narrowed her eyes to prevent the wind from whipping them.

Eventually, all Uni could see were a mesh of colors coming from Rom, Ram, the mushroom, her hair and the background. In her ears was the wind, and Ram's laughter.

Suddenly, another alarm went off and the wheel stuck in place. Once the wheel stopped moving, the mushroom slowly screeched to a halt. When the mushroom finally stopped, Uni looked around. Ram had her arms up in the air, her hair was a mess. The CPU Candidate of Lastation ran her hand through her hair, noting that she should grab a brush later. Rom, on the other hand, was shivering.

"Hey." Uni unstrapped herself from her seat and moved over to the blue twin. "Are you alright?" The Candidate of Lastation put a hand on Rom, causing her to stop shaking and open her eyes. Her lips quivering, Rom slowly nodded.

"I-If Ram's with me, I'll be fine." Ram shook her head wildly.

"Hahaha! That was so much fun!" Fixing her dress, Uni held out a hand to both of the twins.

"Come on, you two. Let's go somewhere else." Rom took Uni's hand while Ram used Uni's hand to pull herself to her feet. Uni guided Rom out of the ride while Ram ran ahead.

"Come on, you two! We've got a ton of rides to get on!" Uni turned to Rom, who tightened her grip.

"You sure you're going to be okay?" Rom smiled at Uni.

"I-I'll be fine. ...I think." Uni patted the blue twin's head.

"Hang in there, alright?"

 **(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)**

"Wow that was so much fun…" Ram, Uni and Rom were walking towards the food court. Uni had to tie Ram's hair into a ponytail to stop her hair for getting any messier. Rom got a headband instead, since her hair was too short. In Uni's hands were the twins' hats.

"Uh huh, it was super fun." Rom held onto a candied mushroom that she got for Blanc. Uni was staring at the candy in the child's hand.

"Is… that really a mushroom?" Rom shook her head.

"It's cotton candy… I think." A voice caught Uni's attention.

"Hey, girls!" Neptune waved over to the trio, sitting at a large circular picnic table with a white umbrella covering it. "We're over here!"

Uni could see Noire waving at her from the table. Vert was drinking something from a cup and Blanc was reading a book next to her. Nepgear was there as well, but his back was facing Uni and he was slumped over the table.

"Ah, Blanc Onee-chan!" The twins rushed over to the table, while Uni quickened her walking speed.

"Onee-chan, here!" Rom held up the candied mushroom to Blanc. Looking away from her book, Blanc smiled and patted her little sister on the head.

"Thank you, Rom." Taking the candied mushroom from Rom, Blanc noticed a pouting Ram nearby. "Ram, come over here." Still pouting, Ram obeyed her sister. Suddenly, Blanc pulled the two into a hug.

"Wha- Hey!" Ram was startled.

"Did you have fun, Ram?" Shaking off her surprise, Ram let out a huge grin. Wrapping her arms around her sister, the pink twin pushed her head against Blanc's.

"Blanc, Blanc! So, we…" As Ram ranted about all the rides that she rode with Rom and Uni, Uni sat beside Noire, plopping the twins' hats onto the table. Neptune was munching down on pizza, while Nepgear was pressing his face against the table. There was a slice of pizza, a soda, and a side of fries left untouched in front of him.

"Enjoying so far?" Noire asked her sister while handing her a cup of soda. Uni nodded.

"Yeah, although I didn't expect those two to love thrill rides so much." Taking a swig of her soda, Uni turned to stare at Nepgear. The young man was still face down, but Vert was now rubbing his back. "Uh… Is Nepgear alright?" Vert nodded.

"Yes, he's just suffering from a bout of motion sickness." Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What? But we left him so he could recover from that." Neptune scratched her cheek, letting out an apologetic laugh.

"We kinda found him when he was leaving the bathroom, so we took him with us." Uni grunted.

"Wait, don't you know that your little brother gets motion sickness?" Neptune nodded.

"Ye-Yeah, but I couldn't let him out of the fun." Grabbing a slice of pizza, Uni took a bite.

"Nepgear?" The young man in question wearily lifted his head, his face a pale green. "You really can't say no to your sister, huh?" Nepgear let his face slump against the table, slightly nodding. Vert giggled.

"Well, Nepgear does love Neptune." Neptune giggled, rushing over to her brother and glomping him.

"I love my adorable baby brother." Nepgear groaned. "Oh, sorry Nep Jr." The CPU Candidate of Planeptune lifted his head, holding it up with all his might. Neptune reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a tiny plastic baggie filled with tablets. "Here ya go, Compa gave me these for your case of woozies." The bag immediately vanished from Neptune's fingers and Nepgear was swallowing two tablets and taking a huge gulp of soda. Letting out a sigh, Nepgear's face returned to a healthy skin color. Uni swore that Nepgear's cheek sparkled, despite being under an umbrella.

"Phew…" Nepgear grabbed his slice of pizza and began chowing down. "This is delicious!" Neptune grinned and patted her brother on the head.

"Hehe… Good as new. Compa did a good job." Noire grabbed one of Nepgear's fries and popped into her mouth.

"Still, it's strange. Nepgear's body is just like a human's, but he's a CPU." Neptune wrapped her arms around Nepgear. "I'm surprised no one's ever said anything about him _not_ being a CPU." Nepgear continued to eat, tossing fries into his mouth.

"CPU or not, he's always will be my little brother!" Noire rolled her eyes.

"Always with the optimism," Noire shrugged. "But you wouldn't be you if you weren't." Vert clapped her hands.

"Why don't we get some more food?" Vert scanned the table. "It seems we're just about out." Uni put down the crust of her pizza and stood up.

"I-I'll go with you!" Vert smiled at the young girl.

"Okay, we'll be right back!" Uni followed Vert towards the food stands. The duo weaved through the crowds and stopped before the stands.

Crossing one arm under her chest, Vert put her free hand on her chin. Uni stared in awe of Vert's presence as the CPU glanced from stand to stand.

"Uni?" The CPU Candidate flinched.

" _ **If I may ask, what is your relationship to Nepgear?"**_

Vert's question vibrated through Uni's head. The young girl shook her head, turning to the CPU.

"Y-Yeah?" Vert pointed to the stands.

"Which kind of food should we get?" Uni whipped her head towards the stands.

"U-Uh…" Uni turned back to the table where everyone was. "Um…" Vert blinked.

"Is there something wrong?" Uni shook her head.

"N-No, I'm fine. Seriously." Vert grinned.

"If I didn't know anything, I'd say that you were uncomfortable around me." Uni glanced at an ice cream stand.

"O-Oh, how about we get dessert?" Uni rushed over to the line as she faintly heard Vert giggled. " _She knows!"_

When the Candidate got in line, Uni felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Following the arm, Uni found that Vert was smiling gently.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I tend to act when people I love are involved." Uni looked around. The young girl decided to let Vert go on.

"People you love?" Vert nodded, taking Uni by the arm.

"Please, come with me." The CPU led the young girl away from the line.

"W-Wait, but the ice cream…" Vert smiled.

"It can wait." Vert winked. "Now please, come with me."

Vert led Uni to an isolated bench, far away from the food court. Vert sat down, patting the spot next to her.

"Please sit." Uni plopped down as Vert looked up into the sky. Uni stared up as well, the sky was clear with few clouds so high up that they weren't noticeable. The CPU Candidate of Lastation glanced at the CPU, but Vert didn't utter a single word.

"Uh… Vert?" A gust of wind blew by, making Uni shield her eyes. Through the cracks of her fingers, Uni could see Vert put a hand up to her temple and close her eyes.

Uni stared as Vert embraced the wind.

Once the wind died down, Vert turned to Uni, smiling.

"I feel that taking a moment to get away from everything can help calm you down." Vert folded her hands over her lap. "Well, how do you feel?"

"...Uh." Vert looked straight ahead, watching a family run by. The child noticed Vert and waved at her. Vert waved back, causing the child to smile.

"I understand Neptune's feelings in protecting Nepgear." Uni whipped her head to Vert. "However, I wasn't fond of him being trapped inside." Vert opened her hand, staring at it with a solemn look on her face. "As a result, he can be pretty clumsy and he's completely honest with almost everything."

"That's not a bad thing." Vert chuckled.

"It isn't, but it's evidence of his upbringing." Vert looked at Uni. "I'm sure you wondered why Nepgear calls me his master." Uni nodded. "Well, that's because I truly am Nepgear's master." Vert put a hand over her chest. "I taught Nepgear the basics in martial arts." Vert giggled. "Well, Blanc taught him some things here and there." Uni blinked, confused.

"Don't CPUs already have combat knowledge when they're born?" Vert nodded.

"Yes, but I'm sure you're aware that Nepgear is an Incomplete CPU?" Uni nodded. "When an Incomplete CPU is born, they are have no knowledge of anything: combat knowledge, common sense, nothing at all." Vert hung her head, crossing her arms. "They're essentially babies." A thought popped into Uni's head.

"Wait, so how does Nepgear know all the stuff he knows?" Vert smiled.

"The natural way. He learned everything." Uni eyes widened.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Uni slowly nodded. "Nepgear was taught swordplay by Neptune, close quarters combat from Blanc and I… he learned how to fly a plane from Lowee's flight training program. I've heard that Histoire spent a few hours teaching Nepgear how to walk and talk before presenting him to Neptune." Vert smirked. "I expect he came across mechanics and robotics one day on the internet. Although I've never asked him yet."

"He learned _all of that?_ " Uni stared at her hands. " _Nepgear had to learn how to fly a plane, fight, eat, sleep, and literally every single thing to function…"_ The CPU Candidate felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her and something soft against her face.

"While I know that Nepgear can be quite difficult sometimes- Not as much as Neptune-but I can understand if you want to be away from him." Uni suddenly shot up.

"I-I don't want to distance myself from him at all!" Uni put her hand on her chest as her shadow slightly covered Vert. "I-I…" Uni clenched her fists. "I lo-" Biting her tongue, Uni covered her mouth and stepped back.

Vert stared at her with wide eyes. Those slowly began to shine and Vert's mouth began to remind Uni of a cat's.

"Oh?" Vert placed her elbows on her lap, and leaned forward so that she could rest her head on the back of her hands. "Care to finish that sentence?" Uni shook her head rapidly.

"N-No! I-I-I…!" Vert giggled.

"There's no shame." Vert tilted her head to the side a bit. "Do you remember what I asked earlier today?" Uni's finger twitched, eventually the young girl stared hard at the floor.

"Y-yeah…" Vert laughed.

"Oh please, calm down." Vert patted the spot next to her again. "Sit. It's hard to keep one of the twins in line when they're aggravated. So please, calm down." Taking a deep breath, Uni sat down next to Vert again.

"... I remember what you said…" Vert wrapped an arm around Uni, pulling her close.

"It seems that might've put you on edge," Vert placed her head on top of Uni's. "But now it's obvious to me why you acted so, and I'm sorry." Uni bit in the inside of her cheek.

"N-No, you weren't the one who…" Vert patted Uni.

"Let us let bygones be bygones now. That question doesn't matter now." Vert sighed. "Rather, I'm relieved." Uni looked up to Vert.

"Relieved?" Vert returned the gaze with a smile.

"Yes! To think that Nepgear would care for someone such as yourself… and that she would harbor feelings for him as well." Uni's face reddened. "There's nothing to be embarrassed of. It's all thanks to you, Uni?" Uni tried to pull away, shaking her head. "Please believe me, before Nepgear met you. He would only ask about us, or talk about Neptune. Now, he's become livelier, and happy."

"Happy?"

"Well, Nepgear's always happy. But I mean, that he isn't happy for anyone else." Uni blinked her eyes. "I'm sure you don't believe me, but if you ask Nepgear will tell you this: The first time you met, he was relieved to know someone with similar experiences with him. During your 'rivalry', Nepgear enjoyed spending time with you and he was ecstatic to get your number." Vert shook her head. "Now, he won't stop talking about you, or his creations, or the Gear-Wing, or training." Uni finally pulled away and held up a hand.

"I-I get it." Uni stood up and rubbed her arm. A smile found it's way to her mouth. "I… helped Nepgear." Vert nodded.

"Yes, and I'm sure Neptune would accept your relationship with Nepgear if you decided to go further." Uni jumped slightly.

"Wh-Wha-" Vert put one of her fingers on her chin.

"Although, Neptune is very keen on keeping an eye on Nepgear. So I'm not one hundred percent positive that Neptune will approve, buuuut-" Uni leaned forward, thrusting her hands outwards.

"VERT!" The CPU in exclamation laughed.

"Okay. I think I'm done teasing you. Now, let's get some ice cream." Vert stood up from the bench and headed back to the food court. Uni's eyes followed Vert, standing there dumbfounded.

"...What was that?"

 **(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)**

Vert and Uni returned to the table, carrying four sundaes. When they arrived, Nepgear, Rom and Ram weren't present. Placing the sundaes down, Neptune's eyes sparkled. Planeptune's CPU ripped one of the spoons out of Uni's hand and began to dig in. Rolling her eyes, Noire thanked Uni and reached out for one of the other sundaes.

"Oh, I'm sorry Noire." Vert scooted the other three sundaes away from Lastation's CPU. "I only had enough credits for four sundaes." Noire narrowed her eyes.

"Wasn't your wallet bursting with cash earlier?" Vert turned away, covering a smirk.

"I'm afraid to say that this was all I could afford." Noire's eye twitched.

"So what are going to do with the other three?" Vert smiled, taking two spoons and a sundae, and sat next to Blanc. Blanc was immersed in a book. The CPU of Leanbox lifted Blanc and placed her on her lap. The CPU of Lowee didn't react.

Humming to herself, Vert scooped up some ice cream and placed into her mouth. Getting more ice cream, Vert held the spoon up to Blanc's face. Blanc clamped onto the spoon and Vert had to struggle the silverware out.

Uni stared, while her mouth was hanging open.

"The other two sundaes belong the little ones." Noire crossed her arms.

"Well, then which one am I going to eat?" Neptune shoved the partially eaten treat in front of Noire.

"Come on, Noire~. If you don't hurry, I eat it all." Noire's face reddened, but the CPU held up her spoon.

"F-Fine, if you insist!" As Neptune and Noire dug in, Blanc looked away from her book and dodged Vert's spoon.

"Uni, the twins took Nepgear to the garden. It's north from the food court." Blanc pointed past the food stalls. "Over there, if you don't know your cardinal directions, don't have a map nor a compass." Shrugging her shoulders, Uni placed the remaining spoons on the table.

"I'll bring them back, I guess." Vert waved, popping the spoon into Blanc's mouth.

"Come back before the ice cream sundaes melt!" Uni waved absentmindedly.

"Sure. Sure."

 **(ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ) (ↀ Д ↀ)**

Uni arrived at the garden. The CPU Candidate found that the garden consisted of a flower bed, which was big enough the replicate the sea, that led to a giant maze.

Near the giant flower bed was a billboard. On the billboard was a map of the maze. From what Uni saw on the map, there was a beautiful fountain surrounded by four circular gazebos.

Scratching her head, Uni stared at the center.

"I'm guessing they're probably at the center of the maze." Sighing, Uni shook her head. "Why don't they ever find a nice and easy place to be?" The young girl walked over to the maze. Upon reaching the entrance, Uni saw someone lying on the ground.

"Wait…" Lying facedown, there was a young man with long purple hair tied into a pon- "Nepgear!?"

Rushing over to Nepgear, Uni dropped to her knees. Ignoring the pavement scratching her, Uni flipped Nepgear onto his back. Nepgear looked fine, there were scratches and slight bruises here and there, but the most peculiar thing was Nepgear's clothes were soaked around his torso. Uni backed up slightly at the smell.

"Ew, what is that? Spit?" Shaking her head, Uni tapped Nepgear on the cheek. "Nepgear, what happened?!" The young man grunted as he tried to sit up, his entire body shaking.

"Yellow, fat… thing." Nepgear wrapped his arms around his stomach. "Long. Tounge. Very long." Shaking his head, Nepgear pointed to the maze. "Took Rom and Ram inside." Nepgear flopped onto his side, groaning.

"Nepgear?!" The CPU Candidate in question shook his head.

"Help the twins!" Nepgear pulled himself into a fetal position. "I'll be fine! I'll catch up with you in a bit." Uni shook her head.

"No, you're in terrible shape." Nepear turned away.

"I'm alright!" Uni pointed to Nepgear's injuries.

"Whatever that thing was, it beat you up didn't it?" Nepgear pulled his legs up to his stomach.

"Auuugh, my stomach hurts!" Uni blinked.

"What?"

"I ate too fast, and then Ram pulled me over here. We ran all the way." Uni glared at Nepgear.

"Wait, you're telling me you're concerned over an upset stomach over than getting injured." Nepgear nodded.

"Yeah, well the monster thing didn't really hurt that much. He just threw me out of the maze. But uuuuuugh…" Nepgear rolled around. "This really huuurts." Uni stood up, her eyes blank.

"I'm gonna go check on the twins." Nepgear held up a thumbs up. The CPU Candidate pointed around near the entrance.

"The thing burst through the maze… Uuugh. So you should be able to get to the center…" Uni heard Nepgear's stomach this time.

"Yeah, you should get that taken care of." Uni turned towards the maze. "Hmm…" Taking a deep breath, Uni stepped into the maze.

The maze was made out of tall hedges, twisting and turning to prevent anyone from navigating it easily. However, just like Nepgear described, there was a large hole in the hedges. Peering through the holes, Uni found that the holes went all the way to the center of the maze.

"Geez." Uni scratched the back of her head. "I feel bad for the gardener here." Stepping through the holes, Uni could barely see a large yellow blob in the center of the maze, near the fountain. Narrowing her eyes, Uni could barely see Rom and Ram being held by some kind of red appendage.

Gritting her teeth, Uni sprinted through the rest of the hedges stopping before the monstrosity.

"Rom! Ram!" The two saw Uni and tears began to well up in their eyes.

"Uni-chan!"

"Help us! Please! This thing is disgusting!" Rom nodded.

"It stinks…" The monstrosity laughed.

"Ladies. Ladies. Please. The smell isn't repulsive at all. Rather, it is cleansing your beauty even further." Uni gagged.

"Okay, why don't you stop that?" The big ball of yellow slowly turned around, revealing its appearance to Uni.

The thing that held the twins was a giant pig-lizard hybrid. It had a tiny scaled tail, similar to a snakes. However, Uni had to step back, because the red tongue that wrapped the twins was drenched in a foul-smelling drool. Uni almost gagged again, but saw Rom's tearful look.

"Oh? Is this another beautiful little girl?" The pig-lizard thing narrowed its bulbous puke green eyes at Uni. Uni glared at the monster.

"I'm not a little girl!" Observing every inch of Uni's body, the hybrid clicked its tongue.

"Just out of my range." Uni's shoulder dropped.

"...What." The monster put one of its stubby claws to its chest.

"Oh, nothing. My eyes have seen the truth! True beauty, belongs to little girls!" A droplet of sweat rolled down Uni's head.

"..." The monster laughed, dropping the twins into its hands.

"See? Even you're speechless to the truth!" Uni shook her head, clenching her fists.

"Wha- No I'm no-" Uni suddenly felt something wet and slimy slam against her side. The CPU Candidate was flung off the ground, crashing into one of the pillars that held a gazebo.

Uni flopped against the floor, pain searing through her back.

"Well, no time to waste. Time to build my heaven of little girls! ALL FOR TRICK~!" Ram reached out to Uni. Rom struggled harder, but the monster known as Trick kept his grip.

"Uni!" The CPU Candidate struggled to raise her head. Uni slowly reached out as the monster bounced away.

"Rom… Ram…"

"HEY!" Trick paused and turned around.

"Oh… It's you again." Uni rolled to her side to see Nepgear standing across from Trick. Nepgear was still clutching his stomach.

"Nepgear-nii! You're okay." Nepgear nodded to the twins.

"Yeah, I'm fine where's…" Nepgear turned to see Uni on the ground. "...Uni." For a second, Uni thought she saw Nepgear's eyes flash red. Baring his teeth, Nepgear turned to Trick. A faint white aura formed around Nepgear.

"YOU! What did you do to my friend?!" Trick giggled.

"Oh, nothing~. Just another vermin getting in my way." Trick narrowed his eyes. "Just like you." Trick thrusted his tongue towards Nepgear. The young man sidestepped. Grabbing onto the tongue, Nepgear pulled forward. The action yanked Trick, and the twins, towards him. Stepping forward, Nepgear threw a punch straight to Trick's gut.

The punch shocked Trick into letting go of the twins, causing Rom and Ram to fall behind Nepgear. Letting go of Trick's tongue, Nepgear punched Trick again, knocking him into the air.

As Trick flew, the twins grabbed onto Nepgear.

"Nepgear-nii!"

"Nepgear Onii-chan!" Nepgear patted the twins on the head. Glancing at them each, Nepgear then gestured to Uni.

"Go check on Uni." Now he was staring at her, Uni knew her eyes weren't tricking her. Nepgear's eyes were red. Once the two began running to Uni, Trick landed on the ground, creating a small crater on the ground. Standing up, Trick threw his head back.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Trick pointed at Nepgear. "You're ruining my heaven!" Nepgear clenched his fists.

"Y-You…" The white aura began to grow. "...hurt my best friend…" Nepgear began to tremble. "...for your _sick fetish_?!" The aura began to behave like a large fire, growing and shrinking at an irregular rate. Grabbing his face, Nepgear lurched forward. "...I'll…" Trick slowly scooted backwards.

"Um…" Trick glanced from side to side.

" **I'll destroy you!"**

The white aura flared into a pillar, engulfing Nepgear. Nepgear roared, his voice turning loud and husky. The ground began to shake as the power emanated from Nepgear. Rom and Ram clung onto Nepgear as Uni watched on.

" _ **Now, he's become livelier, and happy."**_

" _ **I… helped Nepgear."**_

Uni watched as the pillar died down, along with Nepgear's roar. Heavy breathing came from Nepgear as the white energy shrouded him like a fire. The young man held his hands like claws and he bent over, ready to pounce.

A pair of blood red eyes stared down a terrified Trick.

Uni's mouth open by itself.

"Nepgear's… angry."

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 4** → **5 (Good Friend)**

 **Uni and Rom's Lily Rank: ?**

 **Uni and Ram's Lily Rank: ?**

 **Rom and Ram's Lily Rank: 8 (Sisters)**

 **Ram and Rom's Lily Rank: 8 (Sisters)**

 **Nepgear and Rom's Lily Rank: 7 (Sibling-like)**

 **Nepgear and Ram's Lily Rank: 7 (Sibling-like)**


	9. Blood Rage

Chapter 9: Blood Rage

* * *

"Nepgear…" Uni held onto the twins as Nepgear glared down the pedophile. Trick tried to shake away his fear.

"Y-You be-be-be-beast, you can't stop the truth!" Nepgear clenched his fists and growled. "Eep!" Nepgear vanished from where he was. "Wh-Where did…?" The CPU Candidate reappeared, floating in front of Trick. Nepgear's leg was pulled back. "Oh…-GWAAA!" With a swift kick, Trick flew straight into the air. Nepgear bent his knees, while still airborne. Nepgear vanished again. Rom and Ram watched as Trick was knocked around in the air, catching quick glimpses of Nepgear.

"Rrgh…" Uni struggled to get to her feet. "If only I could move…" The twins looked at each other and nodded. Rom and Ram placed their hands on Uni's back.

"Uni-chan, don't move." Ram held Uni still as a green light emitted from Rom's hands.

"Wh-What are you…?" Uni could feel the pain slipping away. "The pain…" The moment the pain subsided, Uni pushed herself to a crouching position. Looking at Rom and Ram, the CPU Candidate felt her back. "You can heal?" Rom and Ram smiled at each other. Ram wiggled her fingers.

"Uh-huh. Blanc says we're the best." Rom nodded.

"Yeah!" Smiling, Uni patted their heads.

"Thanks, you two." Suddenly, Trick was planted into the ground nearby. Uni grabbed the two and rushed under the gazebo. Uni pushed the two behind her while the twins held onto her, shivering. Glancing at the two, Uni smiled. "Stay behind me, alright? I'll take care of you two." The twins smiled back and nodded. Trick pulled himself to a sitting position and turned his attention to the children.

"Ah, my beauties!" Uni held her arms out protectively. "Please, energize m-EEEEEEEK!" Trick was swiftly tackled into the hedge maze by Nepgear.

"Come on!" Grabbing the twins, Uni ran towards the holes that Trick made. When the girls made it out of the hedge maze, Nepgear and Trick blasted out of the walls nearby them. Nepgear was on top of Trick, punching him in the head over and over again.

"Would. You. Please. Stop. Doing. Th- AAAAh!" With each word, Nepgear swung his fist hard and harder, and ended it with a swift kick to the head. Trick skidded across the ground, creating a large creavice. Trick pushed himself to a standing-like position, heaving and wheezing. "You…" Trick put tried to but his hand over his heart, but he could barely reach it. "You filthy swine!" Drool dripping from his tongue, Trick used his other arm to point at Nepgear.

Nepgear's hand twitched.

Uni put the twins closer behind her and backed up slowly.

" _Nepgear's aura… it's so intense…"_

"How dare you bruise a pristine and sensitive gentleman like me?" Noticing Uni and twins behind Nepgear, Trick smirked. "But I know how to recover from this…" Trick pulled his tongue in and puffed his mouth out. Letting out a sound similar to puking, Trick shot his tongue at Uni and the twins. The moment Trick's tongue passed Nepgear, the CPU Candidate grabbed it. "Oh right."

"You…" Nepgear narrowed his glare and growled. Trick grabbed his tongue and pitifully pulled at it.

"I completely forgot about that." Grabbing Trick's tongue with both hands, Nepgear braced his legs. Putting all his weight into his legs, Nepgear yanked at Trick's tongue. "Oh- Waaa!" Nepgear began spinning in circles, making Trick look like a big yellow ball with a long red chain. Nepgear spun faster and faster, while Trick's cries were only audible to Uni when he passed by. Soon, Nepgear and Trick became a strange colored tornado. The base of the tornado was white and purple, while the rest of it was red and a tiny bit of yellow.

" **Get the hell out of here!"** Letting go of Trick, Nepgear spun in circles as the pedophile flew far away.

"Hallelujah! LITTLE GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRLS!" Trick was a small star in the afternoon sky as Nepgear slowly stopped spinning. Stomping into the ground, Nepgear's foot cracked the ground as Nepgear reared his head and roared. Uni turned to the twins and smiled in relief.

"Thanks, Nepgear." Nepgear tensed. Ram smiled.

"Thank you, Nepgear-nii. That guy was creepy." Nepgear's hands balled into fists. Rom tightened her grip on Uni's hand.

"Nepgear Onii-chan?" Uni heard a low growl. Instincts made the CPU Candidate, step back, pushing the twins with her.

"...Nepgear?" Nepgear whipped his head toward the trio, revealing his blood red eyes. "!?" Uni let go of the twins and pushed them back. "Nepgear?!"

Nepgear bared his teeth, two having turned into fangs, and hunched forward. Uni stepped back, swallowing. Nepgear glared at the CPU Candidate, his growls increasing in intensity and in number.

Uni held her hands in a "give up"-like way. The Candidate's eyes trembled and her breath hitched as Nepgear stomped closer. Sweat rolled down Uni's face as Nepgear raised a fist.

"N-Nepgear, it's me…" Nepgear responded with a husky growl. "It's Uni. Your best friend." Uni glanced at Rom and Ram, both of whom were holding each other. Gesturing at them to get away, Uni stared at Nepgear.

" **Die!"** Nepgear sped towards Uni, both arms raised. Uni crossed her arms to protect herself and squeezed her eyes shut. " **Grra- Ack!"** A sudden gust of wind brushed against Uni.

"Huh…?" Uni slowly opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was Blanc, holding her hammer high in the air. Following the direction Blanc was face, Uni saw Nepgear rolling across the floor. Nepgear skidded to a stop, using his hands and feet. Rising to his feet, Nepgear whipped his head to Blanc, roaring. The Planeptunian Candidate rushed the two.

"Hmph." Blanc was engulfed in a white light, revealing a blue haired girl in a white leotard. Blanc's hammer turned into an axe. Lowering the weapon, White Heart gestured Uni to step behind her. While Uni was moving, Nepgear was quickly closing the distance. Pressing her axe into the ground, White Heart narrowed her eyes as Nepgear leaped into the air. "...Alright." White Heart raised her axe and rested it on her shoulder.

Nepgear clenched his fist, his red eyes shrinking.

"I don't think so!" Nepgear was suddenly knocked away. As he was falling, Uni could see a spear lodged into Nepgear's shoulder.

White Heart swung her axe to the side.

"Now!" The CPU sped towards the falling Nepgear, jumping high to the sky. White Heart raised her axe over her head. Eyes widening, Uni reached out and opened her mouth as wide as she could.

" _Don't!"_  
"Getter Ravine!" White Heart swung her axe onto Nepgear's torso, slamming him into the ground. The impact caused a crater to appear, pieces of the ground jutting up as Nepgear and White Heart's axe sunk in.

"Nepgear!" Uni ran towards the crater, but felt a strong arm grab her shoulder. Turning her head around, Uni saw Green Heart staring at her. "Vert!" Green Heart shook her head.

"We saw that aura all the way from the food court." Uni could see Neptune and Noire running up behind her. Neptune was holding onto a half-eaten sundae. "And heard Nepgear's voice as well." Green Heart turned to the crater. "We assumed the worst."

"Uni!" Noire rushed over to Uni while Neptune ran over to the crater. Rom and Ram ran over to Green Heart. Transforming back into her human form, Vert let go of Uni and hugged the twins. "I'm glad you're okay!" Uni returned the hug, making a small smile.

However, Uni's smile vanished as she looked towards the crater. White Heart stepped out of the crater, carrying Nepgear over her shoulder. Neptune skidded to a stop, dropping her frozen treat.

"Nepgear!" White Heart unceremoniously tossed Nepgear to the ground. When Neptune kneeled in front of him, White Heart lowered her axe. The weapon hovered dangerously over the Candidate's neck. "Blanc, what are you-" White Heart narrowed her eyes.

"He would have killed Uni." Neptune's eyes widened.

"Huh…?" White Heart's expression didn't change, but she gestured to Uni.

"Right?" Uni glanced to Nepgear, who was being cradled in his sister's lap. The Candidate's eyes stared at the ground while Noire comforted her.

"Blanc," White Heart turned to Vert, who was carrying both of the twins. Rom was crying into Vert's shoulder while Ram just held onto Leanbox's CPU. "I think we should move somewhere else." Vert turned at the sound of running to see four security guards coming. "We might have caused a scene."

The four security guards were wearing their own red, green, yellow and purple uniforms. Each of them boasted impressive mustaches. Two of them were plump and short and the other two were tall and lanky.

"Lady Blanc!" The red guard ran up to White Heart. The green and yellow guards went to assess the damage while the purple guard tried to cheer up Rom and Ram. "What-a happened?" White Heart put away her axe, crossing her arms.

"...I'd like to know as well." The CPU shook her head. "But the three that saw what happened…" White Heart glanced at Nepgear. "And the one who caused some of the destruction aren't ready to talk to yet." White Heart nodded to the guard. "I'll inform the park's owner when all is said and done." The guard tipped his hat, which had a red _M_ written on it.

"Alright," The guard turned to the wreckage. "If you don'ta mind, I'ma gonna help out." White Heart nodded.

"Suit yourself." Once the guard left White Heart's sight, she turned to the group. "We should head back and call Histoire. She might know something." Noire nodded.

"But what about Nepgear's Gear… plane?" White Heart floated up into the air.

"I'll bring it back." White Heart looked at Vert. "I'll leave the rest to you. For now, I gotta check on that thing that Nepgear chucked out of the park." Vert nodded. White Heart turned away and rose high into the air.

"Blanc!" Vert lowered Rom and Ram, who were being distracted by the purple guard as he made funny faces. White Heart stopped and looked at Vert. The CPU of Leanbox gave a soft smile. "Please, be careful." Returning that smile, White Heart nodded and flew in the direction Trick went.

Vert looked around. Rom was laughing as the purple guard pulled on his nose. Ram was running around the purple guard, trying to get him to chase her. Uni was still staring at the ground while Noire tried to get a response out of her. Neptune was crying over Nepgear, and about her sundae and how her brother didn't get to try it. Vert smiled.

"Shall we go home?"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

When the Uni and everyone else arrived at Lowee's Basilicomm, Noire called for Histoire while Neptune took her little brother to a guest room. The twins went along with her, worried about their friend. Uni was ushered into Blanc's office by Vert.

"Please, sit." Vert placed a cup of tea in front of the young girl. "I apologize if it's cold, but this batch was made this morning." Shaking her head, Uni took the cup.

"Thanks…" Sighing, Vert sat down next to Uni and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think you can talk about what happened?" Hesitantly, Uni nodded. Vert gave the girl a reassuring smile. "Then we'll wait for everyone to come in then. Is that alright?" As Uni slowly nodded, the door burst open. Histoire and Noire were standing at the doorway. Planeptune's Oracle rushed over to Uni, grabbing the Candidate's hand with her own.

"Uni?! Are you alright? I came over the moment I heard!" Uni blinked, her eyes large white circles.

"Planeptune's on the other side of Gamindustri…" Histoire smiled.

"Never underestimate an Oracle." Uni secretly noted to herself to do that, and nodded. "Now please, can you tell us what happened to Nepgear?" Uni pressed her lips together and swallowed.

"W-Well…" Uni gripped onto her skirt, and took a deep breath. Neptune walked into the room, squeezing her arm. "W-When I found Rom and Ram being held up by that _thing_ , I tried to get him to let go. He did and then threw me against a pillar. While I was trying to get back up, Nepgear was there… and…" Uni pushed away the cup, grabbing onto the edge of the table. "There was the aura… Nepgear's voice… and his… eyes." Uni began to tremble. Histoire crossed her arms.

"His eyes?" Uni nodded.

"They were red. A deep red." The room went silent as Histoire nodded her head. "And then, Nepgear went crazy, punching that creep all over the garden. Then… he went for me." Histoire floated up and moved towards the window behind Uni.

"I see." Uni turned around.

"See what?" Histoire waved her hand, four holographic mugshots of the three other Incomplete CPUs and Nepgear.

"I may know what part of Nepgear to look after." Histoire lowered Nepgear's picture and focused on the other three. "All of the three other Incomplete CPUs had something unstable about them…" Histoire raised one picture as she named them. "Rei Ryghts, unstable sanity. Arfoire of Lowee, unstable power. As for Kurome Ankokuboshi, it was her transformation that was unstable." Histoire turned to Uni and the other CPUs. "I assume that Nepgear's power spiked during that incident." They all nodded. "That may confirm it. But this is just one hypothesis." Histoire closed the three pictures and raised Nepgear. "I believe Nepgear's emotions are unstable."

The small tome fairy put on a pair of swirly glasses and held up a pointer. Uni blinked her eyes quickly.

"Where did…?" Histoire waved the pointer around.

"I must confirm that Nepgear's emotions are unstable." Histoire took a deep breath. "As such, I think it is time that Nepgear knows his status as an Incomplete CPU." Uni stared at Histoire for a second.

"Nepgear doesn't know?" Neptune sat down. Looking at the table, the CPU of Planeptune let out a heavy sigh.

"No." Uni turned to Neptune. "I didn't want him to know..." Vert and Noire looked away. Neptune hiccuped and gasped for air. "I…" Neptune began to tremble. "He's so innocent!" Neptune slammed against the table. "Why him?! Why? Why!" Noire rubbed Neptune's back as the girl cried.

"Neptune kept Nepgear's status a secret," Blanc walked into the room, adjusting her hat. "...because she loved him." The CPU of Lowee stopped next to Neptune and patted her on the head. "Despite her intelligence, Neptune knew she screwed up and she knew that if Nepgear had any idea of what he was like..." Blanc left her hand on Neptune's head while the CPU sobbed. "He wouldn't blame her." Vert nodded.

"Despite his cheery, calm and gullible personality, Nepgear is perceptive of his surroundings. Although he can miss his mark, most of the time." Uni narrowed her eyes.

"I think he's just clumsy." Vert giggled.

"That's true." Vert put her serious face back on. "However…" The CPU laid her gaze upon Neptune. "I believe Neptune isn't able to tell Nepgear at this moment." For a second, Uni thought Neptune shrunk a little bit. "I'd tell Nepgear, but he's been a fairly recent tar- I mean, I've teased him quite a bit. As such, I don't think he'll believe me." Vert turned Blanc. "Nepgear takes you seriously, why don't you take the task?" Blanc tipped her hat and looked down.

"I… kinda feel like a prick for destroying like that…" Vert remembered piercing Nepgear with her spear.

"Ah…" Vert scratched her cheek. "Then I have another reason not to…" Vert and Blanc turned to Noire, who made eye contact with the two.

"I-I can't do that! I'm not close enough to say that kind of stuff to him." Histoire crossed her arms and looked around.

"Then, the only ones that could tell him are me…" All eyes turned to Uni. "... and you, Uni." Uni whipped her head around, eyes wide.

"Wh-What?! Me?" Uni pointed at Histoire. "Then why don't you do it?" Histoire nodded.

"I would love to…" Histoire sunk close to the ground. "Unfortunately, I used up too much energy to get here quickly… and the previous explanation took the rest of it." Histoire landed on the ground, suddenly breathing heavy. Uni got up, kneeling down in front of the Oracle.

"O-Okay!" Uni rubbed her arm. "...I'll do it." Histoire weakly looked up and smiled.

"Thank you…" A hand latched onto Uni, startling the CPU Candidate. The hand spun Uni around until she was facing Neptune. Eyes red, Neptune tried her best to keep herself looking straight at Uni.

"Uni…" Neptune's lip quivered. "Please…" Tears began to trail down Neptune's face again. The CPU pulled Uni into a hug, burying her face into her shoulder. "...I want to tell Nepgear… but I can't…" Neptune threw her head up, tears rolling down her face. "I'd rather eat eggplants before that!" Uni was about to rub Neptune's back, but her hands hovered over the CPU's back when Neptune spoke.

"...What." Uni wanted comment, but when she pulled away, she saw Neptune's face. "..." Uni glanced away, hearing Neptune snivel. "Hey…" Neptune's head dropped. "Don't be like that." Neptune hiccuped. Uni's mouth quivered. Groaning underneath her teeth, Uni looked away and closed her eyes. "A-A-Alright! Alright! I'll do it!" Uni pulled Neptune off of her and stood. Scratching her eyes, the Candidate put her hands on her hips. "Geez…" Taking a deep breath, Uni ran her hand through her hair.

"Uni…" The young girl turned to Blanc. "Could you ask Rom and Ram to come here?" The CPU of Lowee turned to Vert. "I think we should tell them about Nepgear too." Vert looked at the smaller CPU, pressing her lips tightly and crossed her arms.

"Are you sure…?" Vert closed her eyes, imagining the twins' reactions. "They're just children…" Blanc nodded her head.

"If we're telling Nepgear, the twins should know as well. Before they say anything that could hurt him." Uni nodded.

"I will." Noire bent down to help Neptune to her feet, but the CPU pulled herself into Noire's chest. Startled, the CPU of Lastation could only awkwardly hug her and pat Neptune's head.

As Uni left the room, the young girl took a deep breath.

"Alright…"

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 5 (Good Friend)**


	10. Azure Assurance

Chapter 10: Azure Assurance

* * *

Uni stopped in front of the door, which was the one Neptune said she put Nepgear in, and took a deep breath.

"Alright, this is simple Uni." The CPU Candidate whispered to herself, leaving her hand to rest on the door. "I just have to go in there, get the twins to leave, and tell Nepgear he's an Incomplete CPU." Uni quickly shook her head. "This is stupid…" Grabbing onto the door knob, Uni opened the door and walked inside.

As she expected from Lowee, the room was simple in design. The walls were a creamy light blue color while a creamier white wall ornaments bordered the edges of the walls and ceilings. The room was small, as it was a guest room, but comfortable. There was a bed to the right of door, where Nepgear was currently sitting in. The bed's head post was against the wall, letting the rest of it spread out to the center of the room. There was a drawer to the left of the bed, where Nepgear's clothes were neatly folded at. Across the room from the drawer, there a dresser with a mirror propped against the wall. Rom and Ram were sitting on chairs nearby Nepgear. The chair Ram was on looked similar to the dresser and mirror. Rom was sitting on a comfy plush chair that matched Nepgear's bed.

The twins weren't wearing their coats or hats anymore, revealing their matching gray dresses and white shirts underneath. Nepgear was dressed in a pair of blue pajamas. The Incomplete CPU Candidate's eyelids looked heavy as he tried to keep his head up. Ram pounced onto Nepgear's lap, jolting him awake. Rom raised her hand and a light green light hovered over Nepgear.

Giggling, Uni crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

"What are you guys doing?" Ram and Rom lighted up, seeing Uni. Rom slid off her seat and ran over Uni, hugging the girl.

"Uni Onee-chan! You're okay!" Uni froze and awkwardly looked down at the child with sparkling eyes.

"Onee… chan?" Ram pushed herself off of Nepgear, unknowingly shoving her palm against his groin. Ram was blissfully ignorant of Nepgear's wince as she ran over to Uni, hugging her from the other side.

"Yeah! Uni-nee!" Uni's face flushed a pinkish color. Awkwardly patting Rom on the head, Uni attempted to pull herself out of the Lowee sandwich and over to Nepgear.

"H-Hey, uh…" Uni eyes darted to the sides. "V-Vert and Blanc wanted to tell you something." The twins lit up, letting go of the CPU Candidate.

Gasping, Ram grabbed Rom's hand.

"Come on, Rom! Big Sis might have something good!" The twins rushed out of the room.

"I hope it's food~!" Sighing, Uni looked out to see the twins round the corner before closing the door. The Candidate turned around to see Nepgear in a fetal position.

"...You okay?" Nepgear slowly lifted his head.

"Yeah…" Uni headed over the plush chair, sitting down as Nepgear shifted to a comfortable position. Grinning from side to side, Nepgear crossed his legs under the blanket. The Incomplete Candidate began swaying side to side. Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are you doing?" Nepgear shrugged.

"Nothing. I'm just happy." Vert's words echoed within Uni's head. Gulping back her worry, Uni gestured towards Nepgear's stomach.

"So… how's the White Heart injury?" Nepgear patted his belly.

"Much better since Rom and Ram healed me." The Incomplete Candidate winced. "O-Oh goodness, maybe not." Uni bit the inside of her cheek. The Candidate was trying to bring up Nepgear's condition in the softest way she could.

Nepgear bent over, his hair hiding his face.

"Hey Uni?" Uni blinked her eyes. Nepgear was using a tone she wasn't familiar with.

"Y-Yeah?" It wasn't happy. It wasn't apologetic either. It wasn't even the angry tone she heard earlier. This was a tone that Uni knew Nepgear never used.

The young man was trembling.

"...Is something wrong with me?" Uni knew that tone. The Candidate reached out and placed her hand on Nepgear's shoulder. Nepgear began to shiver. The Incomplete Candidate turned to face Uni, there were tears in his eyes.

That tone was fear.

Alarms began to ring in Uni's head, Histoire's words and her experience with Nepgear's rage began to flash through her eyes. As she sat there, Uni could barely see an aura of black smoke surrounding surrounding him. Uni froze as she could see Nepgear's violet eyes slowly turning red.

"...Am I really a CPU?"

"Nepgear!" Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders, startling him.

"You're fine!" The Candidate of Lastation began to shake Planeptune's Candidate. "You're a great CPU Candidate! You work so hard! You built all these cool things!" Uni summoned the N-buster Mk II. "Look at this!" Before shoving it in front of Nepgear's face, Uni made sure the safety was on. "Look! You made this, and it's amazing!" The CPU Candidate glanced to the side. "...I mean, I haven't really used it that much." Uni shook her head. "But still!" Nepgear made a weak smile.

"T-Thanks… but," Nepgear pulled himself off of the bed and reached for his clothes. "I… wanna show you something." Before unbuttoning his shirt, Nepgear paused and smiled bashfully at Uni. "I think you'd want to go…" Blushing, Uni stood up and rushed for the door.

"S-Sorry!"

"Uni." Uni paused right before grabbing the door knob. Turning around, the Candidate saw Nepgear staring at his hands. "Could you tell my sister that we're going to Planeptune for a bit?" Uni nodded. "Thanks, I'll meet you at the Gear-Wing. Blanc came over earlier to tell me it was in the garden behind the Basilicomm." Uni smiled.

"Sure." As Uni left the room, the Candidate stared at the N-Buster in her hand. "...Can I really tell him this?" Uni pressed her head against the door, taking a deep breath. "I better talk to Neptune first."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Nepgear wants to go back?" Neptune was better when Uni returned. "What does he want back home? He took everything with him." Uni shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't really know. Nepgear said he wanted to show me something." Vert crossed her arms. The CPU had sent the twins and Blanc to get some snacks, where Blanc would tell them about Nepgear on the way home.

"Hmm, is this because we had you tell him his status?" Uni turned away.

"I didn't tell him yet." Everyone looked at the Candidate. "I-I couldn't tell him when he was like that! It was like kicking a dog…" Noire nodded her head.

"It's okay, Uni. I think it'll be fine as long as we don't keep this a secret any further…" Histoire floated up to Uni.

"I'm sorry we had to burden you with this task." Uni shook her head.

"You have your reasons." Looking behind the oracle, Uni could see Nepgear outside and heading towards the gardens. "Oh, I should catch up to Nepgear." The CPUs nodded. "Gotta go!"

Running into the garden, Uni found the Gear-Wing sitting nearby a large bed of flowers. The fighter jet was looking over a large lake. The lake itself was frozen because of Lowee's chilling climate. Walking up to the Gear-Wing, Uni found Nepgear lying on the wing, his arms were tucked behind his head.

The wind blew by, picking up individual flower petals and scattering them to the sky. A petal stuck to Nepgear's cheek. Annoyed, the Incomplete Candidate plucked it off and sat up. The wind began to pick up, carrying Uni's hair and making it scatter. The playful wind also lifted Nepgear's ponytail and sideburns, making them weave in the air. Uni watched as Nepgear slowly closed his eyes.

Taking a second to blink her eyes, Uni climbed onto the wing Nepgear was on. Sidling up to Nepgear, Uni slowly raised her hand up to Nepgear's temple. As Nepgear opened his eyes, Uni flicked him on the head. Startled, Nepgear flopped onto his side.

"Ah, Uni!" Uni smirked.

"What was that heroine looking scene?" Nepgear blinked his eyes quickly.

"...What?" Uni rolled her eyes.

"That sitting in the wind stuff you were doing just now." Nepgear looked around and made a small circle with his mouth.

"Oh. That's…" Nepgear sighed while smiling and went back to lying down. Slowly raising his hands toward the sky, Nepgear's eyes concentrated on the clouds that passed by. "Well, I've always wanted to fly…" Nepgear looked at Uni, seeing her give him a questioning look. "I know, you're going to say I have the Gear-Wing." The young man turned to his jet's cockpit and patted it. "I mean like a CPU, or a bird, flying through the sky." Nepgear rested his hand on the vehicle. "That kind of freedom… must feel amazing." Throwing his lower body up, Nepgear pushed himself to his feet and stretched. "Welp, I think the Gear-Wing should be warmed up." Nepgear turned to Uni, smiling. "Wanna go now?"

Pulling herself to her feet, Uni rolled her shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess."

Nepgear opened the Gear-Wing's cockpit and hopped into the pilot's seat. Climbing into the Gear-Wing, Uni seated herself in the passenger's seat.

"Oh, hey." At her feet, Uni found her bag. "I forgot this was here." Nepgear nodded.

"Yeah, all of our stuff is still in here." Nepgear scratched his cheek. "Although Blanc took all of the weapons, except ours of course." The Incomplete Candidate gestured to the right of Uni. "I think your rifle is over there." Looking to her side, Uni found and retrieved her gun.

"Thanks." Pressing her feet against her bag, Uni made sure her present was still there. Feeling the box, Uni sighed.

"Uni, is there something wrong?" The CPU Candidate shook her head.

"No, I'm alright."

The Gear-Wing rose into the air, pointing in the general direction of Planeptune.

"Okay then, let's go!" Uni and Nepgear blasted off towards the Land of Purple Progress.

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

The Gear-Wing zoomed through Planeptune's skies, slowing down upon reaching Planeptower. Landing on the tower's helipad, the cockpit opened up and Nepgear jumped out. As Uni climbed out of the cockpit, the young girl made sure to move Nepgear's present into her pocket. Nepgear himself stood over the edge of the helipad, looking down.

"Nepgear?" The Incomplete CPU turned and smiled.

"I just wondering how cool it would be to drop from here and transform…" Uni scratched her head as she hopped off the Gear-Wing.

"So… what are we here for?" Nodding his head, Nepgear headed for the door.

"Well, it's better that I show you first…" Heading down the stairs, Uni followed Nepgear back to the Planeptune CPUs' living quarters. Nepgear stopped in front of his room, holding the door open for her. "Come on in."

Thanking Nepgear, Uni walked into his room. When the CPU Candidate looked around, Uni didn't find anything different about Nepgear's room. The young girl was relieved.

Nepgear closed the door and immediately moved over to the closet. Staring at the three button panel, the Incomplete Candidate's finger hovered over the red button. Uni eyes widened.

" _W-Wait, that's the…"_

Without a second thought, Nepgear pushed the button. A panel on the floor slid to the side, revealing a hidden compartment. Dropping onto all fours, Nepgear stuck his hand into the compartment.

"Just hold on a second…" Nepgear began to dig around, grinning at Uni. A droplet of sweat rolled down Uni's face.

"Uh…" Uni glanced around. "Shouldn't you be _not_ showing people this?" Nepgear blinked.

"What?" Nepgear raised an eyebrow. "But I want to show you." Uni stared at the floor, fighting back a blush.

"O-O-Okay…" Nepgear lit up.

"Ah! Found it!" Nepgear pulled out an envelope. The envelope was thick and nearly bursting out of it. "Here it is." The young man thrusted the enveloped towards his best friend. "Take a look!"

Uni stared at the envelope.

Then looked at Nepgear.

Then she stared at the envelope one more time.

Narrowing her eyes, Uni stared at Nepgear again.

"Seriously?" Nepgear smiled and slowly nodded.

"Uh-huh." Uni held out her hand and shyly took the envelope. Peeling off the small piece of tape that held the flap down, Uni took out a small stack of folded papers. Gulping down her nervousness, Uni unfolded the papers.

"Huh..?" Uni's eyes left the papers and went to Nepgear. The Incomplete Candidate was tense as he waited for Uni to read them. Nepgear wasn't looking in Uni's direction, staring at his feet.

" _These are Chirps…"_

Scanning them, Uni shifted through the papers. After looking through, Uni found no pictures. Nothing that would have labeled Nepgear as a pervert, nor give Uni a hint to his preferences.

Every single one of the pages had Chrips on them. They were in black and white in, making it harder for Uni to read them.

"These are all of the ones I could get before Neptune had them taken down, but you should get the general idea…" Nepgear's voice was low and quiet.

" _General idea? Why would Neptu-"_ An idea popped into her head and Uni quickly stared at the Chirps.

" _ **A CPU as a guy? That's sooooo lame!"**_

" _ **WHAT?! THERE'S NO WAY I'M ACCEPTING THIS! GIRL CPUS ONLY!"**_

" _ **NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOo! HoW daRe YOu iNVADe mY gaRDEn Of CPUS. DIE IN A FIRE. ALONE AND BURNED AT THE STAKE!"**_

Uni pulled herself farther and farther as she continued to read.

" _ **Pssh, this kid probably pretended to be CPU Candidate. He's lying Lady Purple Heart! Don't fall for it!"**_

" _ **Die."**_

" _ **You'll never be a CPU Candidate you faker! NEVER!"**_

Uni's hand began to shake, her fingers crumpling the pages. Glaring, Uni thrusted the pages towards Nepgear.

"What. The. Hell. IS THIS!" Nepgear smiled bashfully.

"These were from when I first made my Chirper account, and I said I was Planeptune's CPU Candidate." Nepgear's smile turned hollow as his eyes narrowed. "It was worse when I went outside." Nepgear turned around, holding onto his elbow. "People would yell at me, curse at me, there was one time where I was kidnapped by some lady." Nepgear let out an empty chuckle. "I didn't even know until I was warned to be careful." Uni's hand dropped to her side.

"That's…" Nepgear looked out the window.

"It got a little better when Neptune stepped in, but it never really went away…" Nepgear lowered his head. "I used to stare at these whenever I got the chance, but I never understood why people would say things like that." Uni could almost see a small black aura around him. "No matter what I did, I can't make people accept me..." Uni felt her gift in her pocket. "Maybe I shouldn't exist in the first place…" Gritting her cheek, Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulder and spun him around.

"Nepgear!"

"Wha-" Uni pressed her hand against Nepgear's chest, feeling his heartbeat.

"Nepgear, what is this?" Nepgear stared at Uni's hand.

"...My heart?" Uni nodded.

"And what does it do?" Nepgear had a dumbfounded look on his face.

"It pumps blood throughout our body?" Uni shook the young man.

"It keeps you alive, which means you exist!"

"Uni…"

"Who cares if people don't accept you! Just don't care!" Uni pulled Nepgear into a hug. "They don't know you, we do!" Nepgear tried to struggle, but Uni kept a strong grip. "You're Nepgear, my best friend and rival! Nothing they say or do will change that! Okay?" Uni heard Nepgear hiccup and sniffle.

"Uni… you don't know how much that means to me…" Uni patted the Incomplete Candidate's back.

"Don't you worry, I'll help you get through this. Neptune, IF, Compa, Histoire, everyone will help you." Nepgear tightened his grip on Uni's dress.

"But what if they don't want to?" Uni scoffed.

"Of course they will! If they didn't want to, then why would they stick around you? Why would Neptune try so hard to protect you?" Uni glanced to the side. " _Although she was very forceful."_

"...Thank you." Uni could hear Nepgear wiping away his tears and sniffling.

"Incomplete CPU or not, we'll find a way!" Nepgear paused.

"Wait what?" Uni froze.

"Oh… crap." Nepgear pulled back, confused.

"Incomplete CPU?" Uni scratched her cheek.

"Well…"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"I'm an Incomplete CPU…" Uni turned away and nodded.

"Yeah. I was going to break it to you earlier," Uni gestured to the Chirps on the floor. "But then all of this happened." Nepgear fell back onto the ground, sighing.

It wasn't a sad sigh.

Nor was it worried.

"It's kinda relieving…" Uni blinked.

"Really?" Nepgear nodded.

"Yeah, at least I know I have somewhere to start." Uni reached into her pocket, grabbing the gift.

"Nepgear, I don't know if this'll help much." Nepgear sat up as Uni handed the gift. "But here." Nepgear stared at the gift.

"Is this… for me?" Uni narrowed her eyes.

"I don't see anyone else here." Nepgear tentatively took the gift. Upon seeing the Incomplete Candidate's wonder and awe, Uni felt a slight blush coming. "W-Well, this is just a reminder to let you know that I'm here. To help you. As…" Uni knew that she could say it now. "...Friend." It wasn't the right time.

Nepgear opened the gift, revealing the gun Uni worked so hard.

"Woah… isn't this the gun I designed that always blew up?" Uni scratched the back of her head.

"I had to change a couple things here and there…" Nepgear inspected everything he could see. "Although it will do everything that you hoped it could do." Suddenly, Uni was beset by a Nepgear glomp.

Ooooh! I love it!" Uni had to use her arms to keep herself from falling. "Oh! Oh! Does this have a name yet?" Still recovering from Nepgear's assault, Uni blinked.

"Uh, no?" Nepgear's smile got wider.

"Oh that means I get to name it!" Pulling himself off of Uni, Nepgear stared at the pistol. "Hmm… what should I name it?" Uni regained her composure and rolled her eyes.

"It's your gun, name whatever you want." Nepgear hummed.

"How about the Uni-Buster?" Uni stood up, throwing her fists down.

"What?! No!" Nepgear blinked, protectively holding the pistol.

"Why not?" Uni could feel the red on her face.

"Because it's embarrassing!" Uni reached for the pistol. "Gimme that!" Nepgear held the Candidate at arm's length.

"Hmm, how about U-Buster?" Uni frowned.

"I know that my name is still in it!" Nepgear laughed as Uni struggled to pull the gun away and somehow erase its new name. Suddenly, Nepgear's phone vibrated.

"Oh, one second." Nepgear placed the gun on his lap and let Uni slide onto the floor. Uni calmed herself down as Nepgear looked at his phone. "Ah." Nepgear showed the screen to Uni. "Sis and Noire are done with whatever they were doing in Lowee, so they want us to pick them up." Uni nodded.

"Okay then." Uni glanced at papers on the ground. "So what do we do about those?" Nepgear grinned.

Picking up the papers, Nepgear mashed them all into a ball.

"I don't need them anymore." Opening a window, Nepgear pulled out his Gear-Buster and tossed the paper ball into the air. Holding down the trigger, Nepgear fired a small blast of energy and incinerated the ball of paper. "I don't need to look at the past." Nepgear closed the window, and turned to Uni. "We should go grab our sisters. Right, Uni?"

Smirking, Uni nodded.

"Yeah."

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 5** → **6 (Partner)**

 **Uni and Rom's Lily Rank: 7 (Older Sister Figure)**

 **Uni and Ram's Lily Rank: 7 (Older Sister Figure)**


	11. Solo Time!

Chapter 11: Solo Time!

* * *

"Haaaaa!" Nepgear rushed forward, thrusting a fist towards Uni's chest. Ducking under the attack, Uni grabbed onto Nepgear's arm and flung him over her. Nepgear rolled onto his feet, turning around. As he was rolling, Uni ran over to Nepgear and lept up, pulling her legs back. Nepgear held up his arms, but was thrown back by Uni's drop kick.

Nepgear collapsed onto the ground, reeling from the impact as Uni fell onto her side. Fighting through the pain, Nepgear threw his legs up. The young man rolled back onto his neck and used his hands to push himself onto his feet. Meanwhile, Uni was getting to her knees. Nepgear took this chance to run over and kick Uni on the head, knocking her onto the ground. As the Candidate was dazed, Nepgear climbed on top of the girl. Pressing one of Uni's arms onto the floor, Nepgear raised a fist.

Eyes widened, Uni covered her face with her free arm.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" Nepgear slackened his fist. Nepgear sighed in relief and collapsed onto the floor next to Uni. The Incomplete Candidate attempted to raise his arms in triumph, but they fell flat against his face.

"Woohoo..." Nepgear rolled onto his side, facing Uni. "That was fun." Uni was rubbing her head.

"I don't think getting kicked in the head counts as fun, Nepgear." Nepgear giggled nervously.

"S-Sorry, are you okay?" Taking a deep breath, Uni hesitated before nodding. Sucking in air, the Candidate of Lastation pressed her fingers against her temples. Nepgear pushed himself to a sitting position.

"Do you want ice?" Nepgear held out a hand, which Uni took while squeezing her eyes shut.

"...Probably." Nepgear pulled Uni to her feet and led her to a nearby bench.

The two CPU Candidates were currently in a dojo-styled room in Nepgear's lab. On three of the walls were individual scrolls that read _Determination_ , _Strength_ , and _Valor_. In order for them to immerse themselves in the mood, Nepgear and Uni were wearing gis with the former having a purple sash and the latter having a gray sash. Both of them were barefoot, and Uni had tied her back into a bun. Sitting Uni down on the bench, Nepgear ran over to the door and grabbed his shoes and socks.

"Don't worry, I'll be back!" Nepgear rushed out of the door. Uni stared at the gi she borrowed from Nepgear.

"Why did we even wear this besides immersion?" Uni pressed her hand against the throbbing pain in her head. "...Come to think of hit, how did Nepgear get this in my size?" The sound of the door opening hurt the young girl's ears.

Nepgear rushed into the room, carrying a bag of ice. The Incomplete Candidate had changed out of his gi and into a t-shirt and shorts.

"Uni, here!" Uni took the ice.

"...How did you change…?" Nepgear glanced at his clothes.

"I have spare clothes in the garage." The young man began treating Uni's head injury. "I'm really sorry, Uni. I didn't think that would hurt you so much." Uni shook her head.

"I-It's fine. It just means you're getting stronger." Uni smiled. "This shouldn't last too long." Nepgear nodded.

"Maybe we should have Compa take a look at it. I think she's here today." Uni reached out for Nepgear, pressing the bag of ice against her head.

Nepgear helped Uni up to her feet and helped out of the dojo room. Taking Uni through his garage, Nepgear led Uni to his teleporter and stepped into his room. As they moved through Nepgear's room, Uni saw the U-Buster lying on the table with a black handkerchief wrapped around it.

"Uni, did you catch a fever?" Nepgear put his hand over Uni's forehead. "You're turning red." Uni furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, causing Nepgear to catch the ice pack as it slipped from her fingers.

"I-I'm fine." Taking Uni into the living room, the duo found Compa and IF sitting on the couch. Compa was drinking some tea while IF was looking at one of her many phones while munching on a cookie.

"Uh… Compa?" The nurse stood up the moment she saw Uni.

"Ge-Ge? What happened to Uni-Uni?" The young girl flinched.

" _Uni-Uni…?"_

Nepgear explained what happened as Compa rushed over, taking Uni from him. Frowning, the nurse shook her head.

"Ge-Ge, you have to be more gentle with girls." Nepgear stared at his feet as Compa sat Uni onto the ground.  
"Sorry…" Compa nodded at him.

"Uni-Uni, come here." Compa grabbed the edges of Uni's gi. The CPU Candidate felt the nurse tugging her gi open, grabbing Compa's wrists in retaliation.

"What are you doing?" Uni narrowed her eyes as she struggled against Compa's strength.

"I have to undress you to fix your wounds!" Uni turned to Nepgear, her face turning red.

"B-But Nepgear-" IF shook her head.

"Compa won't care." Uni turned to IF, who finished her cookie and reached for another one. "All she cares is that you're all healed up." Uni felt Compa pulled her gi open. The CPU Candidate of Lastation looked at her companion, who was staring his friend with complete obliviousness. Squeezing her eyes shut, Uni tried her best to combat Compa's nursing.

"Nepgear, could you please come here?" At that moment, Histoire's voice was Uni's saving grace, like a bell at the end of the school day.

"Coming!" Nepgear stepped into the other room, where Histoire's voice was coming from.

Uni sighed in relief.

And Compa promptly yanked Uni's gi off of her.

As Uni screamed, IF stood up and headed into Neptune's room.

"Pretty sure Nep won't notice a missing piece of clothing…"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Uni eventually found out that she slightly too big for Neptune's clothing, giving the Candidate some relief. At the same time, Compa had put her clothes into the wash and now they were in the drying. Since Compa and IF didn't bring any extra clothes to sleep in, Uni had to wear one of Nepgear's button-up shirts and one of his shorts.

" _These… are…"_

Nepgear's shoulders were slightly broader than Uni's. As a result, Uni's collarbone and shoulders were slightly revealed even though the Candidate buttoned up all the buttons. Luckily for her, Nepgear's shorts had an elastic waistband, allowing it to be a snug fit.

"Sorry, Uni." The young girl in question was startled as Histoire floated in front of her. "We didn't expect you to finish your sparring session so early." Uni wanted to nod her head in assurance, but the bag of ice sitting on her head stopped her.

"It's alright. Nepgear's strength has been growing as of late." IF smirked.

"Is that so?" IF pulled out a small disc from her pocket. "That's good to hear." Nepgear suddenly dashed into the living room. The Incomplete Candidate's eyes were sparkling as he held his phone.

"Uni, look!" Nepgear showed the screen to his companion.

 **Quest:**

 _There's too many monsters in the forest, I can't reach my grandmother's place at this rate! - A Girl in a Rwby Hood_

 **Location:**

 _Virtua Forest_

 **Clear Condition:**

 _Defeat_ _ **Fenrir**_

 **Enemies:**

 _Dogoo_

 _Tulip_

 _Boxer-X_

 _ **Fenrir**_

"A quest, huh." Uni moved the phone out of her face. "Sorry, I wish I could go…" The Candidate held onto the ice pack. "Is Neptune going with you?"

Nepgear shook his head.

"Sis has some kind of meeting she has to go to." Uni turned to IF and Compa. IF shook her head, holding up the disk. Compa grabbed onto Uni.

"Sorry Ge-Ge, I have to take care of Uni-Uni!" The nurse suddenly pulled the Candidate close to her.

"Yeah, I've got some intel I need to sift through Gear. I'll have to sit this one out." Nepgear stared at his phone, a little upset.

"So that means…" Compa and IF looked at each other. IF smirked.

"It means you'll have to solo this Gear." Planeptune's CPU Candidate gasped.

"Y-You mean… by myself?" Uni's eyes widened.

"B-But…" Nepgear rushed off.

"I won't let you down!" Uni reached out as Compa held her down.

"Nepgear, wait!" IF patted the Lastation Candidate on the back.

"We should have some faith in Nepgear." Uni turned to IF, worried.

"But…" IF placed the disk on the table in front of them. Uni's eyes followed the disc as the Guild Agent slid it towards the center of the table. "Isn't that your intel?" IF raised her eyebrows, smirking.

"Yeah, just take a look." IF reached over and tapped the center of the disc. The circular piece of plastic lit up and created a hologram. The hologram created a large screen that revealed a video of an elevator. IF looked over her shoulder. "Nep, it's ready!"

"Coming!" Loud footsteps caught Uni's ears as she saw Compa scoot to the side. "Here I am!" Suddenly, Neptune landed in between the space between Uni and Compa, holding a giant bowl of popcorn. Grabbing a handful and stuffing her mouth, Neptune's eyes were fixated on the screen.

As Neptune landed on the couch, Uni caught a glimpse of two arms covered in long white sleeves. The hands' fingers intertwined with each other as they slowly moved up. A familiar voice emitted grunts as the elevator continued to move down. The person let out a relaxed sigh.

" _I'm so excited…"_

Uni leaned forward, whipping her head from side to side. There was no doubt in her mind now.

"Wait- That's Nepgear!" Neptune giggled, stuffing another handful into her mouth. Popcorn, crumbs and kernels, scattered across Neptune's lap and landed on Uni's and Compa's.

"Mhm." Neptune grinned. Uni could see pieces of popcorn stuck in the CPU's teeth. "Histy said we should see how Nep Jr.'s been growin'~." Uni narrowed her eyes. "It kinda helped that he put you out of commission~." Uni decided to ignore that. "But seriously, I'm kinda excit-"

As Neptune was swapping between eating and talking, Nepgear stepped out of the elevator, entering his lab and rushing towards his garage. As the sounds of Neptune munching breached Uni's ear, the young girl wondered why he didn't take his teleporter.

"What if Nepgear gets in trouble?" Neptune's hand froze as she tossed popcorn into her mouth. The popcorn missed and bounced off the CPU's cheek, falling back into the bowl. Neptune slowly turned blue as Compa stood up.

"I'll get some drinks~." Neptune began to shake as Uni began to feel guilty.

"Gear will be fine…" IF put her arms behind her head and leaned against the back of the couch. Neptune let out a sigh of relief. "Probably."

Neptune suddenly shoved the bowl onto Uni's lap, standing up straighter than a board. Uni heard an audible gulp coming from Neptune.

"I'll go check on him." As Neptune began to dash towards Nepgear's room, Compa walked out of the kitchen and swiftly caught Neptune by the hood while balancing the tray with juice and some glasses.

"Nep-Nep, we can't spoil Ge-Ge's excitement~." Neptune tried her hardest to break out of Compa's grasp, but the CPU was effortlessly dragged back to her seat. Uni placed the bowl onto the table as Compa sat Neptune down. The nurse place a glass filled with juice in Neptune's hands as she sat down.

" _How is she so strong?"_ Compa began pouring more glasses. In the screen, Nepgear was climbing into the Gear-Wing. " _Those nurse training programs must be something else…"_

In the screen, Nepgear was prepping up the Gear-Wing. The Incomplete Candidate was breathing heavily and his hands were slightly shaking, but Uni couldn't tell if it was from his nervousness or the Gear-Wing's engine.

Suddenly, something hit Uni.

"How did we get a camera on Nepgear?" Looking around, Neptune was shaking just as much as Nepgear was. Compa was smiling, as if watching her own child go off on their first errand. Turning to IF, the Guild Agent smirked and pointed to her collarbone. Furrowing her eyebrows, Uni stared at her own collar. "...Wait." Uni's eyes widened. "The pudding pin!" IF snapped her fingers.

"Right on the money." IF leaned forward, point at the screen. Nepgear was currently grasping onto the Gear-Wing's control stick. "Remember how Nepgear was kidnapped?" Uni nodded. "Yeah, well we got the excuse to put a very tiny camera on that pin Nepgear always wears."

"Yup. Yup. Yup! Nep Jr. doesn't even have a clue!" Neptune snapped out of her worry and gave Uni the peace sign. A droplet of sweat began to form on Uni's head.

"Isn't that illegal?" The sound of the Gear-Wing taking off erupted from the screen and from outside. Compa giggled.

"Nep-Nep will do aaaaaanyyyything for Ge-Ge." IF put a hand on Uni.

"Just letting you know, only Neptune was in on the idea." The sweatdrop rolled down Uni's face. "Anyways, Virtua Forest's Village is about thirty minutes away by ground vehicles, so it shouldn't take long." IF grabbed her glass and pulled out her phone. "Now to actually look at that intel." IF leaned closer so that Uni couldn't see the screen. Compa and Neptune were relishing in their refreshments as Uni watched Nepgear chant to himself as he flew towards his Quest.

" _I can do this… I can do this…"_

"I hope you can, Nepgear." Uni turned to the bowl of popcorn that was quickly being finished. "Hey, give me some!"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

The Gear-Wing hovered over the village near Vitrua Forest, aptly named Virtua Village. Descending near the entrance of the village, Nepgear climbed out of the jet and stretched his limbs. Snapping his fingers, the Gear-Wing vanished in a blue light.

"Hmm… I don't see any monsters here…" Nepgear cupped his hands over his mouth. "Hey! Monsters! I'm here to beat you!" Standing up straight, Nepgear pressed his lips together and waited for the enemies to come.

…

…

…

…

After a couple of minutes, Nepgear looked at the time on his phone.

…

…

…

After half an hour standing still, Nepgear scratched his head and tugged at his collar. Letting out a sigh, Nepgear looked around the entrance. The Incomplete Candidate didn't see a monster in sight. Pursing his lips, the young man looked towards the village.

"I guess I should ask around."

Wandering through the village, Nepgear turned his head side to side. The young man watched as two young ladies talked in front of a shop. Smiling, the Incomplete Candidate waved at them.

"Um… excuse me?"The two women gasped upon seeing him. "Have you seen any of the monsters in the area?" They looked and whispered to each other as Nepgear asked for any intel about the monsters. "I'm here to exterimine-" The women glared at him, causing the young man to step back in confusion. "Uh…them?" Scoffing, the women turned away and left. "Huh."

Blinking his eyes, Nepgear turned around to see the person who owned the shop. "Oh, um…" Upon meeting eyes with the young man, the shop owner panicked and immediately ran inside. "Ah…"

Scratching his head, Nepgear shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the heart of the village.

"Maybe someone else can help me out."

As Nepgear walked through the village, people began glaring at him. Most of them would intentionally step away from him. Others wouldn't respond to them, some of them yelled at him to go away.

As an elderly man screeched at Nepgear, a couple of small girls stared at Nepgear. The old man chucked a partially eaten apple at Nepgear and stomped away. Sighing, Nepgear turned around to see the girls. After a moment of staring, Nepgear tried smiling and waving at them. The two were startled and ran away into a house, holding hands.

"Oh, goodness…" Nepgear let his head droop and slowly turned around, heading back towards the entrance.

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Geez, can they get any worse?" Uni crossed her arm as Compa handed her a bottle of soda. IF was munching on Compa's cookies.

"Well, at least they aren't trying to kill him."

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Now what?" Nepgear left the village and crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side. After standing still for a moment, the young man shrugged his shoulders and wandered down the dirt road.

As he continued walking, Nepgear pulled out his phone and opened up the Quest.

 _ **Quest Log:**_

 _ **Fenrir still on the loose**_

 _ **Ancient Dragon still on the loose**_

"I thought this would have been easier…" Sighing again, the young man shook his head and put his phone away. "I can't give up now!" Slapping himself in the face, the Incomplete Candidate clenched his fist and began running forward. "I'll find them somehow!"

Nepgear eventually wandered to the edge of the forest. To the Candidate's right was the forest itself and to the left were miniature plateaus that made an archway. Curious, Nepgear turned away from the forest and headed over to the natural archway.

"Wow, this looks amazing!" Walking under the archway, Nepgear saw that the land dipped down into a small grassy valley. Amazed by the sight, Nepgear sat down and scanned the area. "Huh, wait…" The young man stood upon seeing a large blob of cyan near the edge of the valley.

"Yes!" There was about thirty Dogoos- a regular slime monster with a dog motif- swarming the area, along with a handful of Tulips and a couple of Boxer-Xs. Nepgear zoomed in on the Tulips and Boxer-Xs. The former was a big tulip that had a stem with legs and the latter were large skeletons wearing a pink shirt, pink sunglasses and a white sunhat, while wearing their titular boxing gloves. "Hmm… I don't see any of the ones on the list…" Nepgear quickly looked back at the village for a second.

"I'd better take them out just to be safe." Patting his rear, Nepgear took a deep breath and checked his two pistols on his holsters. "Hmm, there's too many to take out by myself…" Nepgear attempted to swallow, but failed. "Oh, if I could just transform!" Biting his lip, Nepgear's eyes suddenly lit up. "But maybe…" The Candidate turned around to plateau behind him.

"This might work…" Nepgear pulled out his Gear-Buster and stared at it. "...Hopefully." Leaping up, Nepgear climbed up the plateau and pointed his gun at the monsters.

Closing one eye, the Candidate held down the trigger. Energy began to build up with the Gear-Buster, the weapon beginning to shake. "Guh… I still can't…" Using his other hand, Nepgear tried his best to stabilize the shaking. "Hold…" The young man gritted his teeth as both his arms shook. "Aw, forget it!" Nepgear let go of the trigger while pointing at the general direction of the horde.

The energy bullet blasted out of the Gear-Buster, knocking the young man onto his butt. The bullet was a giant green energy ball that whistled as it flew through the air. Nepgear's bullet hurtled towards the ignorant horde, and exploded upon contact.

Monsters flew in the air along with tufts of grass and dirt, making a cloud. About Dogoos, Tulips and a Boxer-X vanished into thin air as they flew away. When the cloud of dirt withered away, there were a handful of Dogoos, a few Tulips and one Boxer-X.

Sitting up, Nepgear made a fist bump. "Alright, it actually worked!" Standing up, Nepgear holstered the Gear-Buster and sprinted towards the edge of the plateau. "Let's do this!" Leaping off the edge, Nepgear activated his shoes and zipped through the air. When Nepgear stopped dashing through the air, he noticed that the Boxer-X had moved closer to him in a panic.

Grinning, Nepgear pulled out his Gear-Buster and turned it into the Gear-Saber. Falling towards the monster, Nepgear raising the weapon over his head. Swinging as hard as he could, Nepgear sliced through the Boxer-X as he landed. The monster couldn't even react as it split in half and disintegrated.

"Woo!" Pushing himself to his feet, Nepgear looked around to see the remaining Tulips and Dogoos rushing at him in anger. Switching back to the Gear-Buster, the young man pulled out his U-Buster and grinned. "Let's do this!"

Nepgear pointed his guns forward and strafed to the side, firing each gun alternatively. "Haaa!" Regular bullets shot out of the U-Buster and energy blasts from the Gear-Buster. Luckily for him, monsters moved in Nepgear's general direction and into his line of fire. A couple Dogoos and Tulips vanished before the rest got the idea to stay away.

"Alright!" Taking the chance, Nepgear dashed forward and knocks a Tulip into the air with a back flip kick. Upon landing on his feet, Nepgear quickly pointed up and fired a spread of bullets at the slime dog. "Take this!" A few shots pierced the Dogoo's body, causing to cry out in pain.

Suddenly, Tulip tackled Nepgear from behind while he was distracted by the airborne monster. "Gah!" Nepgear's Gear-Buster fell out his hands from the attack.

The attack knocked Nepgear onto the ground. Acting quickly, the Candidate rolled onto his feet. "Not y- Oof!" However, he was quickly assaulted by another Dogoo. Falling onto his back, Nepgear was dogpiled by more Dogoos and Tulips. "Aaa-Mmmgh!" The Dogoo in the air landed on the ground, whimpering as it vanished.

"Mngh! Mmm, MMM!" Nepgear was able to throw off a couple Dogoos as the slime dogs bit him and the flowers smacked him with their heads. Pushing himself to a sitting position, Nepgear punched one of the Tulips in the face and pistol whipped a Dogoo that pounced at him. Coughing, the Candidate jammed his pistol into another Tulip's face, pulling the trigger. The U-Buster let out flurry of bullets into the flower. The Tulip dropped onto the ground, its head full of holes. The remaining monsters pulled away from Nepgear, startled by the noise.

"Belgh… that didn't taste great at all…" Nepgear pushed himself to his feet and saw his Gear-Buster on the ground, knocked out of reach when he was dogpiled. The Candidate tried snapping his fingers, but nothing happened except the monsters were confused. Pursing his lips, Nepgear looked around. There were ten Dogoos and three Tulips left. " _My Gear-Saber… I guess I have to try Plan B…"_

Taking a deep breath, Nepgear holstered his gun. Holding out his arms in front of him, the young man closed his eyes. " _Or was it C?"_

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"What's he doing!?" Uni stood up, nearly dropping her soda. "That idiot just put away his weapon in front of the enemy!" Compa giggled.

"That's just Ge-Ge being Ge-Ge." Uni turned to the nurse.

"Wha-" IF chuckled.

"Yeah, just like him." Neptune grinned.

"Nep Jr. likes to protect the stuff he gets," Uni smiled. Neptune smirked. "Especially from people he _loves_." Suddenly, Uni's face turned a bright pink. The Lastation Candidate, eyes wide, whipped her head to Neptune. Seeing Uni's face, Neptune's smirk turned into a grin.

" _What."_ The CPU turned away, failing to whistle properly. "Hey!" Compa smiled and waved Uni down.

"Calm down, Uni-Uni." IF patted the Candidate on the back.

"Yeah, seriously. Just sit back and watch." Uni turned to the screen, where Nepgear was slowly being surrounded by the enemy forces.

"But…"

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

" _Maybe it was ɑ?"_ Nepgear slowed his breathing as the Dogoos and Tulips got closer. " _No… ?"_ A Dogoo grinned and prepared itself to pounce. " _Oh I remember now!"_ The moment it leaped into the air, Nepgear opened his eyes and a long blue light shined in his palms. A sheathed katana appeared in Nepgear's hands. Yanking the cover off, Nepgear stepped back and brought the weapon close to his waist. Swinging upwards, Nepgear cut the ball of slime in half.

"It was Plan Katana!" Holding his katana up to his waist, Nepgear grinned. Running towards some of the monsters, the Candidate leaped up and swung downwards. "Alright, sis. Please help me out!" Cutting through a Tulip, Nepgear stepped forward and began swinging in random directions while the blade's weight carried him.

"Teh-yaaaa!" Nepgear sliced through two more Dogoos and another Tulip before the final Tulip knocked him off of his feet with a horizontal head swing. " _Not again!"_ The Incomplete Candidate used his dash and slid on the ground, his katana nearly falling out of his hands. "Hup!" Cartwheeling onto his feet, Nepgear spun his katana in his hands as two Dogoos rushed towards him. "I don't think so!" Spinning around, Nepgear threw his katana like a boomerang.

The weapon jammed itself into the first Dogoo, leaving the second free to attack Nepgear. Nepgear stepped back, hold his hands over his arms. "Alright it's…" A war hammer with a long handle appeared in the Candidate's hands. "Hammer time!" With some effort, Nepgear swung the hammer over his shoulders and smashed the Dogoo into the ground. "Ha ha! Always wanted to say that." Yanking the hammer out of the ground, Nepgear looked forward to see the final Tulip and the five remaining Dogoos running towards him.

"Hmm… hammer's gonna be too slow for this…" Nepgear raised his weapon high. The katana, which was lying on the ground ever since it killed the Dogoo, vanished in a blue light. The same thing happened to the hammer in Nepgear's hands, but the light shone brighter. "Alright, time to show Master what I can do!" When the light died down, a spear with a cone-shaped tip replaced the hammer. "...Even though she's in Leanbox. Or Lowee."

Nepgear spun the weapon in his hands, Holding the weapon behind him, Nepgear held out his free hand and pointed at the monsters.

"Let's do this!"

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"..." Uni stared at Nepgear's battle. "...WHAT?!" IF reached over Uni and grabbed a handful of popcorn because she ran out of cookies.

"Surprising, huh?" Uni looked at IF and pointed at the Nepgear as jabbed a Dogoo and swung it around like it was part of the weapon. Disbelief was written all over the Candidate's face. "Martial arts wasn't the only thing Nepgear learned from everyone." Histoire floated over the four girls, landing on Neptune's head.

"When CPUs are born, they already have knowledge of fighting and certain aspects of politics, which I am sure you already know." Uni nodded. "Nepgear, however, knew nothing when he was born." Neptune crossed her arms and nodded her head.

"I taught him almost everything he knows." IF narrowed her eyes.

"Explain the hammer, lance, martial arts and literally everything else that isn't the katana." Neptune pouted and turned away, forcing Histoire to keep her balance.

"Well, I taught him his common sense." Uni narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. Compa took a sip of her tea as she watched Nepgear spin around and tornado roundhouse kick the last Tulip.

"You didn't do a good job, then." Neptune made a shocked face and whipped her head to Uni grabbing her by the shoulders. The CPU's sudden movements forced Histoire to fall into Compa's lap, who patted the Oracle on the head.

"What?! How could I fail in raising my adorable little brother?" Uni blinked twice, rolling her eyes.

"Where do you want me to start?" Uni began listing off each and every thing Nepgear did, which common sense would have stopped him. With each point, Neptune flinched and moaned. As Neptune and Uni continued, IF saw Nepgear stabbing his lance into the ground, vaulting himself over and slamming his heels into a Dogoo.

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Phew…" Nepgear recalled his lance and wiped his hands. Quickly pulling out his phone, Nepgear opened the Quest log.

 _ **Quest Log:**_

 _ **Fenrir still on the loose**_

"Still some kind of progress." Nodding, Nepgear put his phone.

"Where's… ah. There you are~." Walking over to the Gear-Buster, the young man bent over and picked up his pistol. Checking for damage, Nepgear sighed in relief and moved his gun towards his holster.

As Nepgear was about to put away his gun, the young man heard a shriek.

"Huh?!" Turning towards the sound, Nepgear pointed his gun. "That sounded like it came from the village!" Biting his lip, Nepgear turned the Gear-Buster into the Gear-Saber and rushed up the hill.

When Nepgear reached the forest's edge, he found the Fenrir in the middle of the road. The Fenrir was a giant wolf monster with cyan blue fur, piercing yellow eyes and fangs and claws that could rip steel into pieces. Nepgear saw the monster cornering two children against the plateau. Nepgear recognized them as the two girls he met in the village.

"Hey!" Screaming at the Fenrir, Nepgear dashed towards the girls put himself between them and the monster. Nepgear held out his hand out protectively and pointed his sword threateningly at the monster. The young man briefly turned to the two.

"Please, find somewhere safe to hide!" The girls nodded and ran back to the village. The Fenrir roared, its head following the two as they ran. "Oh no you- Slash Wave!" Nepgear swung his sword against the ground, grazing it. As the tip of the blade left the earth, a large shock wave formed from the ground and slammed into the monster. The Fenrir barely flinched, but the attack stopped it from moving. "Over here!"

The wolf monster slowly turned to Nepgear, growling. Drool began dripping out of its mouth. Nepgear held his Gear-Saber in both hands. The Candidate's hands made the sword tremble.

"...I really should have thought this out." The Fenrir rushed at Nepgear, baring its fangs. "Eep!" Nepgear swung the Gear-Saber around, the energy blade humming as it moved. "B-Back off! I've got an energy Saber a-a-and you wouldn't like if-" The Gear-Saber sparked, sending visible electricity through the blade. "Wha-!" Suddenly, the blade died down and left Nepgear with just the hilt. "Why did..." Nepgear glanced at the Fenrir, which began rearing its head. "Uh…"

Nepgear put the Gear-Buster behind his back and held out a trembling hand.

"N-N-Nice doggy?" The Fenrir began stepping closer. " _Uh… Maybe I could pull out the U-Buster?"_ Nepgear pressed himself against archway, beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead. " _No, I don't think I can… Maybe! I can summon a weapon?"_ Nepgear kept his eyes on the monster in front of him. " _But, Neptune's sheath might take too long to take off… And Blanc and Master's weapons are too long for this kind of distance…"_ The Fenrir stalked closer and closer to Nepgear, lowering its head as it moved. " _Alright… I think can unsheath Sis's katana, but I have to smack the Fenrir in the face before I ca-"_

The Fenrir rushed at him. Teeth and claws bared at the Incomplete Candidate.

"Eek!Ican'tdoit!" The Fenrir leaped towards Nepgear, baring its claws. Eyes wide, Nepgear leaped into the air and spread out his legs. The monster's paws landed here Nepgear's legs were, while the upper part of its jaws were stopped by Nepgear catching its mouth. The lower part of the jaw was propped open by Nepgear's elbow bracing itself against the back of the wolf's teeth. Nepgear's feet caught onto parts of the plateau that were malformed and jutted out of the structure. The Fenrir's teeth pierced the skin of Nepgear's hand and arm, causing blood to slowly drip out. "...Rrgh…" Nepgear struggled against the monster's jaw strength, as the Fenrir slowly began closing its mouth. " _Goodness, this hurts!_ " Tears forming at the corners of his eyes, Nepgear tightened his grip of the dead Gear-Saber in his hands. " _Am I… really going to die here?"_

Nepgear could feel his arm bending painfully against the Fenrir's jaw.

" _Sis… IF… Compa… Uni…. A-Anyone!?"_ Nepgear's breathing began to pick up in speed. " _I-I don't want to die!"_ The Candidate frantically looked around, but no one was in sight. " _P-Please! I-I-I want to live! I want to become a CPU! I want to make tons of friends and be able to fly without help!"_ Nepgear closed his eyes, tears beginning to stream down his face.

" **I… I could be your friend."** Nepgear could feel those words ring in his ears like the did the first time.

" **We're not friends. We're not buddies. And we're definitely not best friends."** He remembered the sadness. " **You. Are. My. Rival."** At the same time, Nepgear remembered a rush of excitement. " **And I'm yours. Got that?"** Nepgear really liked her confidence.

" **Wanna work together then? Go on Quests, train and all that."** Nepgear thought she was really reliable and nice.

" _ **N-No way, the N-Buster MK I… There are only two in existence. Well, one since one of them was destroyed by Neptune, but that doesn't matter! I have one! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh m-"**_ He remembered how funny she looked when she was spazzing out.

" **Who cares if people don't accept you! Just don't care!"** Nepgear was glad she said that. " **They don't know you, we do!"** He was relieved that she was the one to say that. " **You're Nepgear, my best friend and rival! Nothing they say or do will change that! Okay?"** Her words made him happy.

" **W-Well, this is just a reminder to let you know that I'm here. To help you. As a… friend."** Nepgear remembered that shy smile she gave when she handed him the U-Buster. Although, he thought she might have been a little warm then.

"Uni…" Nepgear felt his arm and dead Gear-Buster against his back. " _N-No…"_ Prying his eyes open and causing tears to fling off of him, the Incomplete Candidate glanced at his weakening arm. The young man gritted his teeth and pressed against the Fenrir's mouth, ignoring the pain and prying its jaw open. " _I can't die…"_ Nepgear raised the Gear-Saber's hilt high above his head. " _I have a friend who's waiting for me!"_

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!" With all his might, Nepgear slammed the Gear-Saber's hilt into the Fenrir's skull. Nepgear was sure he heard a crack. The monster yelped as it pulled back, letting go of Nepgear's arm. The Gear-Saber was yanked from Nepgear's hand as the wolf jumped back, landing close to the Fenrir. The Incomplete Candidate slipped off the plateaus and dropped onto his knees with a grunt. Nepgear grabbed onto his limp left arm, feeling the blood gush from it. "..."

The Fenrir shook its head violently before turning to Nepgear, growling heavily. Nepgear in turn glared back, forcing himself to stand.

"...I." Gritting his teeth, a dark surrounded Nepgear as he held out his healthy arm. "I!" Nepgear continued to glare at the monster as it reared its head.

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Oh, crap!" Uni stood up. IF caught Uni's drink before it could spill and Neptune stood up as well. "Nepgear's aura! Not again!" Uni turned to Neptune, nodding at each other.

"Let's go Mini-Noire!" Uni narrowed her eyes.

"Don't call me that!"

Before the two could leave, Histoire floated in front of the two.

"A moment." Histoire looked at the screen. "Please take a look first before you make any conclusion." Neptune and Uni looked at Nepgear, seeing the dark aura flashing a bright purple color.

Uni leaned forward, eyes widening.

"What is he…?"

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"I…" The black and purple colors flashed back and forth between each other. The ground slowly began to shake and crack underneath Nepgear, causing the Fenrir to stumble. "May be weak…" Neptune's katana materialized in Nepgear's hand. Closing his eyes, Nepgear grabbed the sheath with his bleeding hand while holding onto the hilt with his clean one. "I can't transform…" The Candidate gritted his teeth to ignore the pain in his left hand. "But I won't give up just yet!" The aura continued flashing between the two colors as he moved into position.

"I'm not going to die!" When Nepgear opened his eyes, the aura burned a bright purple as the Candidate's violet eyes glared at the enemy.

" _ **You die!"**_ Nepgear unsheathed the blade and rushed at the monster at a terrifying speed. Appearing behind the monster, Nepgear held his blade out with his arm sticking outwards.

The Fenrir dropped to the ground, vanishing into the thin air.

 _ **Mission Complete!**_

Neptune's katana and sheath dematerialized from Nepgear's hands and the young man collapsed on the ground, next to his Gear-Saber.

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Oh my gosh, That was super awesome!" Neptune slapped her cheeks, pressing her palms against it. "While that was cool and all, my baby brother needs me!" Neptune turned to her side, seeing the window open. "...Did someone open the window?" IF and Compa shook their heads. "Histy?" Histoire smiled.

"Uni left moments ago." Neptune pursed her lips. "She's darted out of the window in her HDD form when she saw Nepgear collapse." Shrugging her shoulders, Neptune plopped back onto the couch.

"I guess Nepgear's gonna be fine." IF raised an eyebrow.

"Huh, I thought you would have busted through the window by now." Neptune grinned.

"I woulda if I coulda." Neptune slowly glanced at Histoire, who was hovering menacingly over her. "But Histy would turn Pissty real fast… and someone already beat me too it."

On the screen, the two children returned with a handful of adults. The adults were outfitted with bows, swords, and shields. One of them had a staff.

(｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°) (｀°Δ°)

"Ah, there he is!" Nepgear struggled to raise his head as he heard some gasps. Slowly turning his head, the Candidate saw the two girls in front of him. One of the girls tried to touch him, but an adult yanked her away.

"Don't go near him!" The adult pointed a sword at Nepgear. The child grabbed onto the adult.

"He saved us!" The other child grabbed onto the adult's sword arm. "Please, help him Father!" Another adult looked over Nepgear, flinching upon seeing his injuries.

"Oh Lady Purple Heart, his arm!" The adult dropped his sword and shield and flipped Nepgear over.

"...Owwie…" The adult gently lifted Nepgear, seeing the busted Gear-Saber on the ground.

"Hold on, please." The adult reached over and placed the broken weapon on Nepgear's stomach. Lifting him up, the adult turned to the village. The first adult glared at his companion.

"What are you doing?" The angry adult pointed his sword at Nepgear again. "That _thing_ is a disgrace to our CPU!" The kinder adult scoffed.

"Whatever you say, this young hero saved your daughter's life." The angry adult stepped back and glanced at his daughter, who was hanging onto the man's sword arm. Clicking his tongue, the man picked up his child and walked back into the village while the child's friend ran after them. The kind adult turned to the one with the staff. "Do you think you can treat his wounds?" The staff wielding adult nodded.

"Take him inside. We need to disinfect his arm before we cast any healing spells. The kind adult nodded.

Nepgear slowly reached for his Gear-Saber, weakly grasping it. A peaceful look on his face, the Candidate slowly closed his eyes.

"...Uni."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Black Sister landed in front of the village, transforming back into Uni. The Candidate turns down the road.

"Hopefully, Nepgear's still there." Suddenly, Uni felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. The young girl clicked her tongue. "This better be- Wha!" Uni stared at the messages on her phone. "64 texts?! From who?" Uni opened the app. "Oh, from Neptune… IF… Comp- It's basically everyone from earlier."

" **The villagers took Nepgear inside, so you don't need to look for him on the floor."**

"Well…" Uni put her phone away and turned towards the village. "That's convenient."

Walking into the village, Uni looked around. The villagers were whispering to each other as Uni passed by.

" _Wow, she's so pretty…."_

" _She looks like Lady Black Heart!"_

" _Idiot, that's her little sister!"_

Uni blinked her eyes and glanced to the side.

" _I've heard this somewhere…"_ Shaking her head, Uni sighed. " _I don't see Nepgear out the open. They must be taking care of him inside."_ Uni bumped into something.

"O-Oh, sorry!" Seeing no one in front of her, Uni looked down. The two children that Nepgear met were staring at her, one of them was sitting on the ground. "U-Uh…" " _These kids are…"_ Uni scratched her cheek. Kneeling in front of the girls, the Candidate smiled at them. "Have you seen Nep- Lady Purple Heart's little brother? I'm here to pick him up."

The girls gasped and turned to each other. Smiling, the girl that was still standing up grabbed Uni's hand while her friend stood up.

"Over here! Over here!" The girl that wasn't pulling Uni ran into a nearby house. Uni was led into the one room house, where she found Nepgear lying on the bed. The Incomplete Candidate was still, surrounded by a green light. The mage healing Nepgear was surprised to see Uni, but nodded upon seeing her. Nepgear was slowly breathing.

"Nepgear!" Uni ran over to her friend-totally-not-love-interest-just-a-friend. The mage stepped aside. "You okay?" Nepgear struggled to open his eyes.

"Oh… hey Uni." Nepgear smiled. "I did it." Uni copied his smile, sitting near his head.

"Good job, Nepgear." The Candidate patted her friend's head. Nepgear felt the Gear-Saber in his hand.

"I think the Gear-Saber broke again…" Uni giggled.

"Just fixed it up again. You always do that." Nepgear chuckled.

"I guess." nepgear blinked. "Hey Uni?"

"How did you know I finished?" Uni flinched.

"I-I…" Uni turned to the side, looking at the mage and the children. The children turned their heads to the side while the mage looked at Uni with a confused look. " _I should tell him I was basically stalking him…"_ Pressing her lips together, Uni smiled again. "H-Histoire got the notice that you finished it."

"Oh Okay." Uni pointed her back to Nepgear.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Just for your hard work, I'll give you piggyback ride home." Nepgear grinned.

"Hey, we haven't done that in a while…" With Uni's help, Nepgear climbed onto her back and Uni stood up. Uni bowed to the villagers in the room.

"Thanks for taking care of Nepgear." The children waved at Nepgear.

"Thanks for saving us Mr. Purple Brother!" Nepgear and Uni blinked before looking at each other. Smiling, Nepgear did his best to nod.

"I did my best." Uni carried Nepgear out of the house. Upon standing in the middle of the village, Uni transformed into Black Sister.

"Wait!" The duo turned around to see the angry adult village from before. The man walked over to Black Sister and Nepgear. "I have something to say to you." Black Sister stepped back. Suddenly, the man bowed. Nepgear blinked.

"Huh?" The man bowed deeper.

"Thank you saving my daughter!" A soft smile touched Nepgear's face.

"It's nothing. Thank you for saving me." The man stood up and nodded as his daughter ran into his arms. The adult nodded to Black Sister and left, carrying his daughter.

Black Sister looked over her shoulder to Nepgear.

"You ready to go?" Nepgear smiled.

"Yeah!" Black Sister lifted off the ground and blasted into the sky.

As they flew over Planeptune, Black Sister stared at Nepgear's left arm. She could barely see them, but there were still holes from the Fenrir's teeth.

"...Hey, Nepgear?" The Candidate in question leaned closer to his friend. Black Sister looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Remember, we're friends." Nepgear stared at Black Sister, tilting his head to the side. Facing forward, Black Sister lowered her head to hide a small blush. "S-S0 you can rely on me whenever you can, alright?"

Nepgear's eyes slowly widened. The Incomplete Candidate's smile brightened.

"Yeah, thanks!" Black Sister smiled.

Black Sister and Nepgear could see Planeptower up ahead. Black Sister sped up her flight and flew towards the open window where Neptune, Compa and IF were waving from.

"I'm home!"

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 6** → **7 (Close)**

 _ **Notice!**_

 **You've unlocked: Stance Change**

 **Nepgear now feels confident enough to use Stances! After observing certain characters and loving them enough, Nepgear can replicate their fighting styles and create Stances in their form.**

 _ **Notice!**_

 **You've unlocked the Stances Nepgear has learned!**

 **-Gunslinger Stance**

 **-Adapter Stance**

 **-Nepgear Stance**

 **-Neptune Stance**

 **-Blanc Stance**

 **-Vert Stance**

 **-Compa Stance**

 **-IF Stance**

 **Hint: Nepgear can swap between Gunslinger and Adapter Stance as long as he using one of those Stances. Nepgear Stance is only usable as a separate Stance or by holding L, R and X when Nepgear is using the Adapter Stance.**

 **Hint: Alongside Gunslinger and Adapter Stance, Nepgear can use thee other Stances while on the field. Summoning more than that will stress Nepgear's body and his muscle memory, so be sure to** _ **equip**_ **the three you want to bring into battle.**

 **Hint: Raise Nepgear's Lily Rank with other characters, he might get a new Stance! Might.**

 **Hint: Stances are Nepgear's biggest way of showing respect and affection. At the same time, they are his way showing his growth.**

 **Hint: While Nepgear enjoys the freedom that his new Stances give him, he prefers the Gunslinger, the Adapter & the Nepgear Stance.**


	12. Rage Awakened

Chapter 12: Rage Awakened

* * *

"N-Nepgear…" The young man in question leaned forward. "Are you okay with this?" Nepgear smiled cheerfully.

"I'm fine as long as I'm with you, Uni…" Uni turned away, biting her cheek.

"That's not fair, saying that." Nepgear giggled.

"Sorry."

"D-Don't apologize!" Uni took in a deep breath. "A-Anyways, I'm sorry if this ends up causing trouble. ...This is my first time anyways." Nepgear tightened his grip on the shoulders.

"Ngh!" Uni's eyes widened.

"Nepgear!?" Closing his eyes, Nepgear grinned sadly and put his controller down on his lap.

"Sorry… Uni."

 _ **And this game's winner is… Blue Team!**_

"I lost." Growling, Uni put her hands on her head.

"Why did I even agree to playing this stupid game!" Uni pointed her finger at Rom and Ram, who were lying on their stomachs to her right. "Why did you pick a fighting game that you two made! It's totally not fair!" Giggling, Ram made a peace sign while her sister put her hands over her mouth. As Rom was fighting back her joy, Ram stood up and stuck out her chest.

"Hehe… that's just because you guys just suck." Uni's eyes twitched. Nepgear coughed into his fist.

"Well, to be fair…" Nepgear shrugged. "You did choose Gaseous Snape even though his mechanics and hitboxes are kinda hard to pull off when you start off." Uni whipped her head to her best friend.

"Don't you talk to me about mechanics, you were using Falko and doing some kinda jump reflector thing for more than _half_ the game!" Nepgear held up his hands.

"I-I did say it was a warm-up round…" Uni shook her head slightly.

"Wh-What… what does that even mean?!" Ram stood next to Uni as Rom patted the Lastation CPU Candidate on the head.

"It means you gotta get good, Uni-nee!" Uni glared at the two.

"Why I outta…!" The twins ran off as Uni stood up.

"Oh no~. Uni-nee got mad again~!" Rom giggled as Uni began running.

"Get back here!"

"You have to catch us first~." Rom's sing song voice echoed from under Uni's frustrated growls as they ran out of the room.

"Grr… Why did I agree to babysit you two!" Laughing to himself, Nepgear put his controller near the Lo-Wii. After moving the other controllers, Nepgear stretched his arms over his head and let out a happy sigh. Pausing to feel his left hand, Nepgear stared at it.

There were still holes that the Fenrir's teeth left. Poking at them, Nepgear slowly rolled up his sleeve to feel his arm. The young Candidate made a small smile, running his fingers on the bite marks he couldn't see.

It had been a month since Nepgear's encounter with the Fenrir. Nepgear had to wear bandages over his arm and hand for the entire month. Recently, the bandages came off, but could still feel a small inkling of pain from a considerable amount of pressure.

"Nepgear." Turning towards the door, Nepgear found Blanc at the doorway.

"Oh, Blanc. How's the meeting with everyone?" Blanc nodded.

"Going smoothly, should be done by tomorrow." Nepgear smiled, glancing at his and Uni's bags lying nearby. Inside was their pajamas, toiletries and other necessities for a sleepover. Oh, and Nepgear's Dogoo-Plushie. He was going to buy a Neptune version, but someone in suspicious looking clothing, who sounded very familiar, beat him too it. Nepgear was sure the person had a " _Lastation Rocks!"_ hat and a mask. "You know, aside from your sister being a complete idiot." Nepgear let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"S-Sorry, can't change my sister…" Blanc rolled her eyes.

"Wish we could. If only she was more responsible like you, Nepgear…" Nepgear opened his mouth, but Blanc held up a hand to stop him. "I know, I know. 'You're sister is responsible.' That's great and all, but you're bias doesn't really help." Blanc reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. "Anyways, here."

Nepgear took the paper, finding out there were two separate pieces of paper.

"W-What's this…?" Blanc turned around.

"One's a shopping list for some groceries for tomorrow… Gonna have to stock up on food." Nepgear nodded. "Especially with that your black hole of a sister inhaling everything." The Incomplete Candidate laughed, scratching his cheek.

"And the other one?" Blanc stiffened, but not enough for Nepgear to notice. The CPU Candidate covered her mouth with her fist and cleared her throat.

"That's… an address to a shop in Lowee. I placed an order for something and I need you and Uni to pick it up." Nepgear blinked, tilting his head to the side.

"Just me and Uni? What about Rom and Ram?" Blanc crossed her arms.

"They'd blab to Vert about it."

"What-"

"Nothing, just pick it up for me okay?" After a second, Nepgear nodded again.

"I won't let you down!" Blanc scoffed.

"Goody two-shoes. Well, you should go to sleep. It's already dark." Blanc left the room as Nepgear waved. "You can get the groceries whenever you want, the store opens at 11."

"Good night, Blanc!" Nepgear opened one of the notes Blanc left him.

"Night." The first one he opened was the list, revealing that Blanc wanted them to mostly get snacks and some ingredients for cooking. "Hmm…" Folding the note and putting it in his pocket, Nepgear opened the second note.

"Hmm… Where is this place?" Nepgear suddenly looked up, and turned to his stuff. "Come to think of it, where are we going to sleep?"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Yay~! Blanc Onee-chan sent us on an errand!" At ten in the morning, the CPU Candidates left to work on Blanc's requests. Rom and Ram rushed out of the Basilicom. The latter of the two carrying the note Blanc had given Nepgear. Nepgear and Uni followed the two out of the building.

Thanks to Lowee's general climate, non-Lowee duo were bundled up. Uni put on a pair of stockings and a thick, black winter coat on. She wore a pair of mittens to cover her hands.

Nepgear had swapped out his flight jacket for a white winter jacket, ignoring the hood. Although, the Incomplete Candidate regretted not taking the gloves Vert offered. However, the scratchy feeling of the wool over his wounds irked him. The Planeptune CPU Candidate wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.

"Geez… I should have grabbed some more layers." Uni breathed into her hands, nodding as she rubbed them together. The CPU Candidates climbed into a carriage, taking them into the center of the town.

"Yeah… Me too." Uni trembled a bit as she watched Rom and Ram bounce about. Ram tried to poke her head out of the window, but the carriage driver scolded her. "H-How do those two get used to this?" Nepgear shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess living here does that to you." Rom waved the two.

"Nepgear Onii-chan! Uni Onee-chan!" Nepgear waved at the girl. Uni turned to Nepgear.

"We should hurry up." Nepgear nodded. Taking out the note Blanc left him, he looked at the address.

"Hmm… Rom-chan, Ram-chan!" The twins turned around at Nepgear's call. "Can you two come here for a second?" Nepgear reached out and handed the note to Rom. "You two have any idea where this is?" Rom tilted her head to the side.

"...I don't know." Ram scratched her head, causing her hat to fall onto the floor. Uni stared at Nepgear's hand, barely able to see the bite marks. Nepgear's left arm slightly twitched and he grabbed onto the jacket sleeve, tugging at it.

"Hey, Nepgear…" The Candidate's friend turned to his friend. "How's your hand?" Nepgear let go of his sleeve and rubbed his thumb against the palm of his hand, letting Ram take the note.

"I'm hanging in there." Ram suddenly gasps.

"I know where to go!" Nepgear smiled at Ram, patting her on the head.

"Good job, Ram!" Ram giggled in pride, putting her hands on her sides.

"Yeah, nice!" Ram grinned, puffing out her chest.

"He he! Don't worry, I know this place like the back of my hand!" Rom clasped her hands together and leaned closer to her sister.

"Really Ram?" The Pink CPU Candidate stepped back, glancing away.

"Y-Yeah, kinda…" Nepgear and Uni blinked, glanced at each other, and then looked at Ram.

"So…"

"You don't know where to go?" Ram pouted and and crossed her arms.

"I kinda know!" The CPU Candidate pressed her hands against her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. The carriage stopped near a fountain. The driver opened the door and stepped aside. Suddenly opening her eyes, Ram grabbed Rom's hand, jumped out of the carriage, and began running down a street. "This way! Onee-chan always went this way!"

"R-Ram, wait!" Nepgear climbed out of the carriage and watched as the twins vanished into the crowds. Scratching his head, Nepgear shrugged as Uni stepped out of the carriage. "Now what?"

"The only thing we can do is follow them." Nodding his head, Nepgear let Uni walk in front of him and followed the girl through the crowd.

As Uni and Nepgear walked through the crowds, Uni could hear whispers.

" _ **Th-that's… him, isn't he?"**_

" _ **The fake CPU Candidate?"**_

" _ **Oh, no! It really is hm!"**_

" _ **Stay away from him, he might turn crazy and destroy the town."**_

Despite the comments not being directed at her, Uni felt uncomfortable. The girl turned around to see that Nepgear had lowered his head, digging his hands into his pockets.

"Nepgear…" The boy shook his head.

"Just ignore them, Uni." Uni tried to open her mouth, but Nepgear sped up his pace.

"He-Hey!" As Nepgear and Uni pulled out of the crowd, the CPU Candidate grabbed her Incomplete Companion. "What was that?" Nepgear glanced at the crowd and turned away.

"I'm doing what you told me to do… Ignore them." Uni held her hands up slightly, before letting them fall at her sides.

"N-No! I know that, but… the stuff they were saying!" Nepgear tired to let out a small chuckle, but it came out dry.

"Well, remember that incident at the park?" Uni nodded. "I didn't really tried to hide anything in my rage." Nepgear looked down the street, seeing Rom and Ram up ahead. The two had stopped because Rom had fallen over. Now the Pink CPU Candidate was cheering her sister up by making a Snow Blanc in the middle of the street. Nepgear crossed his arms. "I kinda punched that pervert through some food stands and into the food court." Uni flinched. "I _maybe_ , _just sorta_ picked him and slammed him into a table, grabbing a chair and slamming over his head until it broke. Then smacked him with the broken pieces."

"Uh… Nepgear?" Uni could see the small black mist rising from Nepgear.

"I wanted to chuck him at the Ferris Wheel, but there were people in it. So I tackled him through the hedge maze again. After that I-"

"Nepgear!" Uni grabbed Nepgear by the collar, snapping the Incomplete Candidate out of his stupor.

"H-Huh? Yeah?" Uni sighed.

"You can stop recounting that now." The black mist vanished. Nepgear blinked a couple of times.

"Uni?" The girl in question furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" Nepgear suddenly pressed his hands against Uni's cheeks.

"Your face is kinda red." An immense blush covered Uni's face. "Oh, you're redder. Wow, I don't think my hands can cool you down anymore." Uni brought her shaking hands onto Nepgear's wrists, slowly prying them off.

"Y-yeah, I think you're right…" Uni slowly lowered her head, trembling slightly. " _How does he do stuff like this so naturally?!"_

Rom and Ram ran up to the duo. Ram grabbed onto Nepgear while Rom stood nearby Uni.

"Hey! Hey! I remember now!" Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"Now?" Ram pressed her finger against her lip.

"Ssh! The important thing is I remember-"

"Onee-chan used to stop by the store on the paper when we would buy snacks! She would stare it for a long time!" Rom chirped while Ram pouted.

"Rom! I was gonna say that!" Rom lowered her head, lips quivering.

"Sorry Ram…" Uni, having calmed down, patted Rom on the hat.

"Well, what are we waiting for!" Uni turned to Rom and Nepgear, seeing the former getting a piggyback from the latter. "Nepgear…"

"Yeah?"

"Can you not let Rom do that whenever she wants?" Ram grinned and pulled herself over Nepgear's shoulders.

"Aw, why not? It's comfy~." Uni's eye twitched.

"That's not the point!" The Lastation Candidate felt something grab her hand. Looking down, Uni saw a bashful Rom holding her hand. As Uni was distracted, Ram pointed down the street.

"Onward!" Nepgear, at Ram's urging, walked forward. Uni and Rom walked hand in hand, following the other two.

"Uh… Ram? It's kinda hard to carry you with all these clothes on…" Ram continued to point forward.

"Gooooo!" Nepgear sighed.

"At least my back won't mess throw itself somehow…"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

While Ram guided the group around town, the Candidates would traverse through alleyways and streets that Rom wouldn't recognize. Eventually, they got a place Ram couldn't recognize.

After a ten minute long combination of Ram crying and apologizing, Uni and Nepgear began asking around for help. However, any civilians Nepgear asked shooed him away, ignored him or threw snowballs or trash at him. Some of them even ran away screaming, causing a scene and making the Candidates move somewhere else to avoid any incidents.

By the time the Candidates reached the shop, it was around twelve o'clock in the afternoon. The shop located with in a small building with a mushroom roof on top. The walls were a warm sun yellow with red spots dotting the place. Above the mahogany red door was a sign that said _K' Jewelries_. Nepgear opened the door and stepped aside, letting the twins rush in. As Uni got to the door, she stared at Nepgear and raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, aren't you a gentleman?" Nepgear smiled.

"IF did this for Compa once. Compa really likes it." Uni rolled her eyes.

"It's common courtesy. Of course she'd like it." Once Uni stepped through the door, Nepgear entered the shop and let the door close itself.

A bell rung as the door closed. Uni glanced around as Nepgear walked further into the store.

The store was filled with cases of jewelry. The cases adjourned the walls and the surrounded the store. In each case was jewelry of different kinds: from necklaces to bracelets and rings to earrings.

Rom and Ram were already looking at the wares, their eyes sparkling like the gemstones.

"Wooooow!" Ram exclaimed while Rom pointed at a gold ring with a ruby in it.

"It's so pretty!" Uni walked over to the two, staring at the silver ring with a sapphire embedded into it. As Uni got closer and closer, she noticed that there was an _ɑ_ symbol. Turning to the ruby ring, she found that there was an _Ω_ symbol in it.

"Hey, those symbols look pretty cool." As Uni and the twins were looking at the jewelry, Nepgear walked over to the store owner.

The owner of K' Jewelries was a tall, lanky man wearing a navy blue business suit. The man wore a gold rimmed monocle that made his sky blue eye shine. His silver hair was slicked back against his dark chocolate skin. He wore a K-shaped earring. On his chest was a pin that said _K'_. The owner was talking to another customer, a warm smile on his face and a chilling voice.

"Um, excuse me?" The two turned to Nepgear. The moment they saw him, the customer forced back a shriek while the owner smiled.

"Yes?" The customer quickly turned to the owner, then to Nepgear. The customer's eyes shrank.

"U-Um K'? I-I-I'm just going to go now." The owner, K', turned to his customer and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, well… first time tomorrow?" The customer nodded and immediately ran out of the door. Nepgear and K' stared at the door as it shut. A small bell ringing.

"Hmm…" K' crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "He must have had an upset stomach to run that fast." The store owner turned his attention back to Nepgear and smiled. "Hello. CPU Candidate of Planeptune." K' held out his hand. "What do I owe the pleasure of having you…" The man raised his eyebrows upon seeing the excited twins interacting with another employee while Uni tried to calm them down. "Oh my, is that Lady Rom and Lady Ram? And the CPU Candidate of Lastation?" Nepgear smiled and took K's hand.

"Yes, well… we're here to on Blanc's request." K's eyes lit up.

"Ah, Lady White Heart's order." K' put a finger on his lower lip and chuckled. "It was quite a shock to see her burst into the store one day…" Nepgear blinked.

"R-Really?" K' nodded.

"Yes, it was-" Suddenly, Nepgear's phone rang.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry." K' shrugged his shoulders, his smile unchanging. Nepgear took out his phone. "Oh, it's Blanc." Nepgear made an awkward smile and pointed to the door. "May I take this?" K' nodded and bowed.

"Please take all the time you need." Nepgear walked off towards the door.

"Hello, Blanc?" Nepgear stopped in front of the door and stepped to the side, leaning on the wall. "Yes, we've made it. Huh? 'What do mean we?' I mean Rom, Ram and U-" As Nepgear tore the phone off of his ear, K' closed one eye as he heard Blanc screaming from Nepgear's phone. The owner of the store put his hands behind his back and straightened himself. Turning to the other Candidates, the man noticed that the girls were gone from where he last saw them. Glancing around the store, K' could not find them anywhere.

"Oooh~ Look at these rings!" Startled, K' held his breath as Ram's voice came from behind him. The man quickly turned his head around to see Rom, Ram and Uni standing over a case with only four rings. K' raised an eyebrow and slowly edged closer to them. "But why is there only four in here?"

Each ring was identical in shape, but the main difference was their color schemes. One ring had a white silver band and a violet amethyst embedded into the ring. Planeptune's insignia was inscribed onto the gem. Another ring had an onyx colored band and a small diamond as the gem. Lastation's insignia was written onto the diamond. The other two rings were made with cotton candy blue and pink colors. Both of them had a white opal with rainbow specks within them and had the Lowee insignia written on them.

K' chuckled, catching the Candidates' attention. The girls stepped aside as K' moved closer pointing the rings.

"These are special rings." Rom's eyes widened in wonder.

"Reeeally?" K' nodded. The owner pointed at each ring gingerly.

"Yes, each ring was specially made to commemorate the birth of Planeptune, Lastation and Lowee's CPU Candidates." K' smiled at each of the girls. "In order show our gratitude to the goddesses, each ring was fashioned to a CPU Candidate's liking." Ram's eyes sparkled as she pointed at the pink ring.

"Sooooo, that's one me?" K' nodded his head.

"Yes, Lady Ram." Rom pointed at the blue ring.

"Um, excuse me Mister… Is that one me?" K' smiled at the small girl. Rom's eyes widened. "Wow! That's so cool!" Uni glanced at the white and black rings.

" _I guess that's me and Nepgear then…"_ Uni crossed her arms and made a small smile. As the twins talked with K', Nepgear approached the group. The Incomplete Candidate was rubbing his ear as he shoved his phone in his pocket. "Who was that?" Nepgear sighed as he nodded to Uni.

"Well, that was Blanc… and uh…" Nepgear rubbed his neck as he glanced at the twins. "Could you… take Rom and Ram and grab the groceries already?" The Incomplete Candidate gestured awkwardly, looking unsure and confused.

"Why?" Nepgear pressed his lips together and his eyes darted around.

"Uh… Because I asked?" Nepgear made a slow shrug. Uni blinked her eyes, slowly narrowing them with each blink.

"...Sure." Nepgear perked up, smiling.

"Thanks, Uni!" Nepgear tried to grab Uni's hand, but the girl dodged out of the way. Uni held her hands up and buried her nose under her scarf as she slowly turned red. "Uni?"

Uni grabbed Rom and Ram by their collars.

"Well,Ithinkweshouldgo. Calluswhenyou'redoneNepgear,bye!" The twins waved at Nepgear as they were dragged out of the store.

"Bye, Nepgear-nii!"

"Please, be careful!" Nepgear waved in response.

"I will!" Once the door closed, K' turned to Nepgear and bowed.

"We must go to the back, as it seems there is some secrecy for Lady White Heart's order." Nepgear nodded as K' gestured to a door in the very back of the store. "Please follow me."

As they walked towards the door, Nepgear stared at K'.

"Uh, Mister K'-"

"K' is fine."

"Oh, uh… K'."  
"Yes?" Nepgear glanced at one of the employees that passed by, who quickly sped up and turned away. The young man sighed.

"Well, whenever I talk to anyone- except for my friends and family- they all turn away out of fear or hate me. Why don't you?" K' paused for a second, glancing upward and putting a finger on his lip. After a second, the man shook his head and shrugged.

"There's no need to dislike you." Nepgear furrowed his eyebrows.

"...I don't follow." K' continued walking towards the door, stopping at the door frame. The man placed his hand on the frame, grasping it.

"Humans are incomplete beings who are afraid of things that are different and out of the norm. We look up to the goddesses as beings who are perfect, out of our reach, and obviously, as deities." K' turned to Nepgear, a sly smile on his face. "However, you are a CPU Candidate that defies all logic. You're male, different, and flawed. At the same time, you're supposed to be a goddess." The man sighed, shaking his head. "These differences make people fear you, loathe you for shattering their illusions." K' walked inside, shrugging his shoulders. "However, that just makes you more human."

Nepgear stared at the man, his mouth slightly open.

"I'm just different?" K' put his hands on his shoulders, smirking at the Incomplete Candidate.

"And what's wrong with being different? It's more entertaining than being normal." Nepgear stared at his injured hand.

"Huh…" K' motioned towards Nepgear.

"Come in now, this will take some time. Because the gem is still being fitted." K's mouth turned upwards. "Now, while we wait… how about you tell me about yourself and that CPU Candidate from Lastation?"

"Uni? Well…"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Hey, Uni Onee-chan?" Uni grabbed a family-sized bag of Way's Potato Crisps. Two of them.

"Mm, what is it?" Uni stared at the list as Ram ran to the cart. The cart was filled with snacks of various brands and types. The CPU Candidate dropped some Picky into the mobile basket. Uni grabbed Ram's head. "At least get pack of this instead of single ones." Elated, Ram dug out her treats and ran into the sweets section. "Not a whole lot okay?"

"Kay~!" Uni put the list and turned to Rom.

"Sorry, Rom. What did you want?" The small girl pressed the palm of her hands together, looking concerned.

"...Did Nepgear Onii-chan do something mean to you?" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you think that?" Rom stared at Uni with her large blue eyes. Uni could practically see her worry.

"Well, when Nepgear Onii-chan tried to hold you, you backed off." Uni could feel the blush coming back. The CPU Candidate of Lastation quickly fanned herself.

"I-I didn't, really. It was just…" Rom tilted her head to the side, innocently smiling. "I…" Uni sighed and patted Rom on the head. "It's just something I have to deal with. We're not fighting." Rom widened her eyes.

"Really?" Uni nodded her head firmly. The worry in Rom's eyes were quickly replaced with happiness as the girl hugged her. Uni heard some giggling behind her and turned to see some elderly women smiling at her. Embarrassed, Uni looked around for something to distract her and Rom, but resigned herself to hugging Rom back.

"Geez." Uni felt her cheeks heat up. "Nepgear owes me big time for looking after you two." Ram returned, dropping the fruits of her search into the cart. Seeing the two, Ram ran behind Uni and wrapped her arms around her. "Wha-Hey!" A young mother with her daughter in the cart passed by, letting out an audible aw. Uni pursed her lips and tugged at the twins. "C-Come on, cut it out!"

Ram giggled.

"Aw, why not?"

"Because it's embarrassing!" Rom looked up to Uni, nuzzling her cheek against the older girl's neck.

"But, you're like a mom…" Uni's eye twitched.

"At least call me Onee-chan like you normally do!" The twins giggled more and tightened their hug. "H-Hey, stop!"

Ram eventually let go, climbing onto the side of the cart.

"See, you're okay with Rom and me. So why not Nepgear-nii?" Uni flinched, letting go of Rom.

"I-I already told Rom, okay!" Rom watched Uni grab onto the cart, trying to not make eye contact with either of the twins. "It's something personal." The CPU Candidate of Lastation nudged Ram off of the cart, taking out the list at the same time. "Hmm… we need some soda…" Uni began pushing the cart out of the snacks aisle, moving towards the drinks aisle. The aisle was made two store shelves, four stacks high. There was an assortment of drinks from sodas, to energy drinks to alcohol.

"I want cola!" Ram held her hand up. "I wanna have cola float." Uni nodded.

"Sure. Sure." Uni turned into the drinks aisle and glanced at Rom. "You want anything?" Rom narrowed her eyes at all the choices.

"Hmm… Can I get something strawberry-flavored?" Uni shrugged.

"Sure, why not." Rom perked up and began searching around for a bottle of strawberry soda. Uni grabbed a couple of two liter bottles of cola as Rom found the soda she was looking for. The blue CPU Candidate reached for the bottle. However, the bottle was on the third shelf and Rom could barely reach it. The small girl tried to jump for it, her fingers barely grasping. As Rom landed on the floor, her fingers slipped from the bottle. Her arms dangling at her sides, Rom slowly lowered her head.

As she was staring at the tiled floor, Rom saw her blurry reflection. Suddenly, she saw another blurry reflection above her. Glancing up, Rom saw Uni grab the bottle.

"You could have asked." Rom smiled.

"Thank you!" Uni returned that smile.

"Don't mention it." Uni and Rom returned to the cart to see Ram staring at their treasure hoard. "You know, we have a ton of junk food." Uni saw a tiny scribble on top of the list. "What… Hmm." Uni peered at the scribble. " _Neptune food_. That explains everything." Uni saw a scribble under the list. " _I will reimburse whoever pays, and owe them a favor. I'll double whatever Rom and Ram get. Keep the receipt. - Blanc_ " Uni shrugged and put the note away.

Checking the cart, Uni turned to the other two.

"Did you two get everything you want?" The twins nodded. "Alright, let's go pay for this now." Suddenly, Uni's phone rang. "Oh sorry." Uni took out her phone and saw that she got a text message from Nepgear.

 _Hey, Uni. The 'thing' Blanc had me do is done. Are you guys finished shopping? Also, I'm kinda hungry. You wanna eat somewhere._

 _Nepgear_

" _Why do you still sign your name?"_ Rolling her eyes, Uni put her phone away and grabbed the car again. "Nepgear wants to get lunch, where do you wanna go?" Ram immediately held her hand up.

"Oooh! Ooh! I saw a Wac Donalds on the way here!" Rom nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I...I wanna go there too!" Smirking, Uni nodded.

"Alright, let me just buy these first."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

After buying the food and drinks, Uni split the bags between the three of them. Ram was carrying some of the snacks. Rom got to carry a bag of chips and her strawberry soda while Uni carried the rest of the drinks and snacks.

"Where was the Wac Donalds?" Ram pointed at a street corner.

"Over there! Over there!" Uni looked at the street signs.

" _Koopie Road and Zhrom Street…"_ The road that the twins and Uni were on was Zhrom Street, while Koopie Road intersected their street. Rom grabbed Uni's free hand.

"I see it!" Just down Koopie Road, Uni could see the fast food restaurant that was in all four countries. Uni had been to one before, but she preferred curry over ham-. "Uni Onee-chan, what's curry fries?"

"Something I must taste now!" Uni sped towards the burger joint. Ram paused, smirking.

"Ah! Is this a race? I wanna join!" Ram chased after Uni while Rom reached out for her sister.

"R-Ram, wait!"

The trio entered the restaurant and immediately began searching for a seat. The inside of Wac Donald's was completely white with yellow highlights. There were booths at the edges of the fast food restaurant while a ton of chairs and tables dotted the center of the place. At the opposite end of the entrance were the cashiers and the rest of the restaurant's inner workings behind the counter. Near the counter were three soda dispensers, each of them having a red body and a touch screen. Since three of the four CPU Candidates were wandering around the store, people began taking pictures (upon requesting) and talking to the girls. Uni, to her embarrassment, got another hug. Eventually, the Candidates found a booth nearby the restaurant's entrance.

The girls placed their groceries at their feet and tried to look at the menu above the cashier's counter.

" _Curry fries… come on where is it?"_ Uni squinted her eyes. " _Guess I should just get up…"_ She could see the menu just fine, but the lights that lit the board up made the words slightly blurry. "What you want Rom? Ram?" Ram immediately put her hand up.

"I wanna Big Wac! A meal and everything!" Uni raised an eyebrow.

" _I'd better get a small just in case."_ Uni glanced at Rom.

"Um… I'd like a Lil' Wac, please. Just a small meal… maybe a teeny one…" Uni nodded.

"Alright," Uni put her hands on the table. "I'll go ord-" Uni froze. "Oh crud." The twins looked at Uni, worried.

"What's wrong?" Uni reached for her phone.

"I…" Uni quickly opened her messages and began typing. "...almost forgot to tell Nepgear where this place is."

After texting the message, Uni stood up and headed for the line. Since it was some time after twelve, there weren't as many people in line. As Uni got behind a young man, the girl felt her phone vibrate again.

 _Uh, wow. That's gonna take about ten minutes to get there. If you're going to Wac Donald's, can you get a cheeseburger meal? Any size is fine. I'll pay you back._

 _Nepgear_

" _Wait, any size?"_ When she replied, Uni got a message almost immediately.

 _Yeah, my sister loves to go here from time to time. She loves to order the bigger sizes. So I've kinda familiar about some of the food and their portions._

 _Nepgear_

"Alright…" Putting her phone away, Uni noticed that the line has moved. Embarrassed at leaving a gap in the line, the Candidate quickly shuffled over to fill in the spot. Uni was the second person in line.

"Next please~!" Uni watched as the young man in front of her walked over to the smiling cashier and began to order his food. As Uni was watching them, another person at the counter took her receipt and left.

"Next plea-" The cashier froze as he saw Uni turn towards him. "H-Hello!" Uni glanced at the menu, looking for the fries Rom spoke of.

"Hi… can I have…" As Uni was scanning the board above her, she found the items Nepgear and the twins wanted. " _Might as well order them now."_ Uni blinked for a second. "Um, the Big Wac." The cashier frantically typed onto the screen in front of him.

"Ye-Yes… Will that be a meal?" Uni nodded. "What size?"

"Small, please."

"Alright, w-will that be all?" The Candidate shook her head. "O-oh? What else would you like?"

"Um.. the Lil' Wac meal, and a cheeseburger meal, both of them small." The casher added the items to the order.

"Is that everything?" Uni put a finger on her cheek.

"I'll have an order of curry fries and a Wac. Oh, and a drink too." The cashier nodded.

"Ah, the fries from Goldroi? Those are nice, although a bit too strong sometimes." The young man wearing a Wac hat nodded. "So basically you want a Wac meal with curry fries. Small?" Uni nodded. "Small." The cashier tapped the screen a few more times. "Alright, so that'll be… A Big Wac meal, A Lil' Wac meal, a Wac meal and a cheeseburger meal. Will that be all?"

"Yes." The cashier smiled.

"For here or to go?" Uni glanced at the twins at the booth. Ram was talking about something, using her arms as if to describe the size. Rom was amazed. Smiling, Uni turned back to the cashier.

"For here." The cashier held out his hand.

"That'll be 2050 credits." Shrugging her shoulders, Uni pulled out the credits needed and plopped them into the cashier's hand. Uni was sure that the young man's hand shivered when she handed him the credits.

"..." The cashier stared at his hand. After a second, the young man shook his head, closed his eyes and shoved the money into the cash register. Tearing out the receipt, the cashier gingerly placed the paper in Uni's hand and placed four cups in front of her. "T-THANK YOU VERY MUCH! YOUR ORDER NUMBER IS 333!" Uni almost commented on the tears in the young man's eyes.

"Thanks…?" Grabbing the cups, Uni turned from the counter and walked back to the twins. Scratching the back of her ear, Uni sat down across from the twins and sighed. "That guy sure was energetic." Ram tilted her head to the side.

"What guy?" Uni shook her head.

"Nothing… Pretty sure it was nothing." Uni could see the cashier holding up hand up to the ceiling.

"I'll never wash this hand again!" Uni flinched.

"Ew…"

Suddenly, the door to Wac Donald's opened and Nepgear walked through. The Incomplete Candidate was gasping for air and sweat was slowly dripping down his head. Nepgear crouched over and put his hands on his knees. Nepgear's hair was disheveled. Nepgear's clothes were slightly dirtied. and his jacket was unbuttoned, revealing his white woolen shirt.

"Nepgear-nii!" Ram exclaimed as she waved at him. "Over here!" Nepgear turned to the three and smiled. The young man sighed in relief as he sat down next to Uni.

"Hey, guys." Nepgear took off his jacket. Rolling up his sleeves, Nepgear leaned against the chair. "It took longer to get here than I thought." Uni handed him a cup. "Thanks." As she handed cups to the twins, Uni looked at Nepgear's appearance.

"What happened to you? This place isn't that far from the jewelry store." Nepgear nodded, slowly getting up.

"Some people don't like me." Uni raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Rom and Ram looked at him in surprise.

"Whaaaat?! How can they not like you?" Rom nodded, her hair swishing up and down.

"Uh-huh! You're really nice and you take care of us!" Uni sighed.

"Rom. Ram. Why don't you two get your drinks first?" The twins gave Uni a hurt look. "Hey, don't give me that. Someone has to watch our stuff."

"But…" Nepgear smiled at the two.

"It's okay. It's all over now. Let's just enjoy our meal." The twins looked at each other before getting up and leaving. Nepgear sighed in relief.

"I really wish I didn't have to worry those two…" Uni coughed.

"So.." Nepgear slowly turned around to Uni, seeing the girl cross her arms. "What happened to you?" A droplet of sweat rolled down Nepgear's face.

"W-Well, uh…" Uni leaned closer, narrowing her eyes. "There may have been… some rocks thrown at me." Nepgear averted his eyes. "And…"

"And?"

"I _may_ have had to jump over some rooftops to get here in time." Uni sighed.

"Nepgear! If you're in trouble, you have to tell someone!" Nepgear lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, but… I just didn't want to bother you since you wer-" Uni pinched Nepgear's cheek and started pulling it. "Yumi, dot hurss…" Uni glared at her friend.

"I thought I told you that I'm going to help you, didn't I?" Nepgear nodded, but Uni didn't let go. "So let me, okay?" Uni released Nepgear from her pinching prison. Nepgear rubbed his reddened cheek.

"Alright, thanks Uni." Nepgear reached out and tried to hug Uni, but the CPU Candidate panicked and kicked him out of the booth. "...Owwie."

"Oh crap! Are you okay?" Nepgear slowly lifted up a thumbs up.

"Your kicks are getting stronger…" Rom and Ram walked up to find Nepgear on the ground. Rom looked down as Ram giggled and slid into her seat.

"Did you slip?" Nepgear nodded as he pulled himself up.

"Order Number 333!" Uni pulled out the receipt and stood up.

"Yes! I'll go get our food." Nepgear reached for and grabbed Uni's cup, his fingers touching hers.

"Then I'll get your drink!" Uni tried to pry her cup from Nepgear's grasp.

"N-No it's okay, I-" Uni saw Rom and Ram staring at her. "O-Okay! Fine!" Uni released her cup. "Get me a cola!" Uni stormed off, her face turning a bright red. " _Geez, what is wrong with me?!"_

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Thank you for the food!" After clapping their hands together, the Candidates grabbed their burgers and began eating. Ram began devouring her burger without a hint of remorse. Rom took tiny bites out of small burger. Meanwhile, Nepgear was careful about anything oily or warm touching the bite marks.

"Mmm~ So good!" Uni had swapped the roles of her burger and her fries, focusing on the latter and only biting the burger occasionally. "Even though it's not real curry, this tastes amazing!" Uni's curry fries were a red-ish brown color, but the Candidate consumed them without a thought.

"I-I think the curry smell would reach the entire place, Uni." Nepgear took a bite of his burger, swallowing. "Oh, Blanc's ri-eeequest is done. So we can go home now." Uni grabbed her drink.

"That's good." Nepgear stared at Uni as she was taking a sip. "...What?" Quickly blinking, Nepgear shook his head and broke eye contact. The young man bit into his cheeseburger, causing ketchup to drip out from the edge.

"Ah." Nepgear let go of his cheeseburger with his left hand, revealing the Fenrir bite marks to Rom and Ram.

"Nepgear-nii?" Nepgear glanced at Ram. "Does your hand still hurt?" Nepgear rubbed his fingers over the bite marks.

"N-Not as much as they used to…" Uni watched Nepgear rub his elbow. "It does kinda bother me sometimes." Ram grinned tried to reach out, barely reaching the middle of the table.

"Don't worry! Next time, we'll make sure no one can hurt you!" Rom nodded.

"Yeah!" Nepgear slightly smiled and turned to look at Uni. Uni gave him a short nod. Nepgear's smile got wider.

"Thanks, everyone." Nepgear grabbed his burger again and began eating with as much vigor as Ram. Uni leaned away from Nepgear, one of her eyes twitching.

"Hey! I don't need another Ram! Calm down!" The twins began laughing as Nepgear grinned, his cheeks filled.

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Aaah…" The Candidates stepped out of the restaurant, Ram and Nepgear were patting their stomachs. Nepgear was carrying half of Uni's groceries, while the twins still carried their own bags. "That was great." Rom nodded.

"It was so tasty!" Nepgear put his hand in his jacket pocket, nodding when he moved his hand around.

"Alright, I guess we should go home." Uni and the twins nodded as they turned off onto _Zhrom Street._ After walking for a couple of minutes, the Candidates turned onto _Pinta Ave._ "Hmm, you guys wanna take the carriage again?" Ram held out her hand.

"I wanna transform and have race!" Ram turned to sister. "Come on, Rom!" The twins nodded to each other and pulled out their Sharicites. Uni took a step forward, reach out to the two.

"Wait, are you two going to ditch us!" Ram grinned at Uni.

"You wanna join? I'd totally kick your butt!" Uni resisted the urge to prove Ram wrong and pointed at Nepgear.

"And what, are we gonna leave Nepgear behind?" The twins gasped and turned to Nepgear, who was awkwardly smiling and scratching his cheek.

"You don't have worry about me, I'll just take the carriage." The twins suddenly grasped onto Nepgear, their combined weight almost knocking him over.

"Sorry, Nepgear-nii!"

"I'm, sorry!" The twins buried their heads into Nepgear's stomach. "We forgot! Honest!" The duo looked up at their brother figure, tears welling up. A droplet of sweat rolled down Nepgear's cheek.

"I-I don't mind, you know. This isn't the first time this has happened." Nepgear smiled at the twins, patting them. "You don't have to worry about me." The twins made guilty looks.

"But, Nepgea-"

"Hey!" The Candidates quickly turned to the direction of the shout. There was a middle aged man down the street. The man was wearing a thick winter coat, his gloved hand pointing straight at Nepgear. Even while being a considerable distance away, the Candidates could clearly see his gritted teeth and terrifying glare. "How dare you lay your hands on the country's little angels!" Suddenly, all eyes were on the Incomplete Candidate.

All of them glared.

Nepgear wrapped his arms around Rom and Ram, lifting them and backing up.

"You monster, you're aiming for these pure children?!" The people on the street quickly herded around the Candidates.

"Do you really think we'll let you get away with that? We already let you stain our land by just being here!" Ram furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth, only for Nepgear to cover it. Gulping, Nepgear put the twins down and pushed them towards Uni.

"Uni, get out of here!" Uni held onto the twins as Nepgear backed up against a store window.

"Are you cra- Wha- Hey!" The people quickly shoved past Uni and the twins, cutting off Nepgear's escape. Uni watched people bending over to grab some snow. She could see them breaking bottles from the side. "What are you doing?!"

A young woman knelt next to the horrified twins, cupping their cheeks in her hands.

"Don't worry, we won't let that creature take you." Rom shook her head.

"Nepgear Onii-chan didn't-" Rom froze when the woman glared. The woman stood up immediately.

"THAT MONSTER HAS ALREADY CORRUPTED THEIR MINDS!" The townsfolk looked at her in horror. The woman held up a snowball that was suspiciously pointy. "END IT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" A sudden war cry resounded through the crowd and waves of pointy snowballs flew towards the opening in the crowd.

"Die you monster! You don't belong here!"

"Waste away in the Gamindustri Graveyard, that's kilometers underwater!"

"In the name of Lowee, we will defeat you!"

"Ow- Ouch! Wait, is that glass?! Agh!" Gritting her teeth, Uni pulled the twins to the side, kneeling in front of them.

"You two find some place safe to hide." Ram shook her head.

"What about Nepgear-nii!?" The crowd began throwing glass-snowballs faster.

"Owwie! I don't even think that's glass!" Uni saw something gray and rectangular fly through the air. "Eeek! A concrete block!? Where did-" A sickening thud reached Uni's ears.

"He's down! Quick end him!" Uni pushed herself to her feet and rushed into the crowd.

"Move!" Uni pushed through the people, shoving some to the ground and knocking snowballs to the ground while she could. "Nepgear!" Uni pierced through the crowd to see Nepgear lying in the snow. The Incomplete Candidate was face down, snow and pieces of glass strewn over his back. There was a bit of blood near Nepgear's head. The concrete block was nowhere to be seen, but there was a hole in the store window behind Nepgear. People were still chucking snowballs at him. "STOP!" Uni's voice surprised the townsfolk as she rushed over to her best friend love interest. Uni dropped to her knees and put herself over Nepgear, ignoring the glass digging into her knees and hands. "What the hell?!"

The man who originally yelled at Nepgear pointed at Uni.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why are you protecting that thing!" Uni tried to shake Nepgear awake. Uni glared at the people around her.

"What do mean?! Nepgear's a CPU Candidate, do you know what will happen when our sisters know this?!" The man scoffed.

"They'll call us heroes!" The man swept his arm over his shoulder. "Get her out of the way!" Three men from the crowd broke free, moving towards Uni. The Candidate didn't like the looks on their faces.

"B-back off!" The men grabbed onto Uni's arms, legs and waist. "D-Don't touch me!" Uni struggled to knock the men off of her, but their combined power lifted her with ease. "No, let go!" As Uni was being taken away, she could see Nepgear weakly lift his head. "Nepgear!" Nepgear weakly lifted a hand. Another man, burlier than the rest, walked through the crowd. Uni could see him hold a sizable boulder above his head. "Nepgear!"

"...U...ni…" The burly man stood in front of the crowd, the boulder's shadow hovering over Nepgear's head.

"END HIM!" A chant resounded as Uni was being taken away. The burly man lifted the boulder higher.

Everything slowed down.

The boulder moving.

Nepgear trying his hardest to move.

Uni being taken away.

Uni was so concerned about Nepgear, she didn't noticed the pink blob moving through the crowd.

A dull thwack resounded through the air and everyone stopped moving. Uni was able break free and dropped to the ground. Uni pushed through, noticing that everyone was motionless and wide-eyed.

"Nepgear?!" Uni broke through the crowd and froze.

"...Ram…" Nepgear was dragging, through the snow and glass, himself to his friend. "...Ram." The Incomplete Candidate reached out and placed a hand on Ram's. Ram was lying on her back, eyes closed. The boulder was sitting nearby her. Uni looked around to see everyone paralyzed. " _You…"_ Nepgear squeezed Ram's hand, slowly lifting himself up. " _You did this…"_ Uni wasn't sure, but the air got **colder**. Nepgear began to breathe heavily, slowly getting to his feet. There was a trail of blood rolling down Nepgear's face, slowly dripping into the snow.

"N-No! I-I-I-I…" The burly man, who had a squeaky voice, shook his hands and head frantically. A black mist began rising from Nepgear. Eyes widening, Uni stepped forward. The black mist slowly transitioned into a bright purple. Nepgear's eyes flashed from violet to ruby and back. Baring his teeth, Nepgear grabbed the man by the collar. Sweeping him to the side, Nepgear slammed him against the wall caused it to crack. The man gasped for breath as Nepgear leaned up to his face. " _You will pay!"_

"Nepgear!" Uni grabbed Nepgear by the shoulders, leaning close to his ear. " _Stop before you prove them right!"_ Nepgear craned his neck towards his best friend.

"B-But.." Suddenly, the man who originally accosted Nepgear pointed again.

"See? He's hurting our fellow countryma-"

"STOOOP!" A weak voice pierced the sky, shocking everyone. Looking at her side, Uni saw Rom next to her. Rom was gripping her and Ram's bag. The Candidate's hands were shaking. Uni swore she heard her sniffle. "Stop being mean!" Shocked, Nepgear released his grip on the burly man and the purple mist vanished. Nepgear's legs immediately gave out and Uni had to catch him.

The woman that tried to console the twins walked up.

"We weren't being mean, Lady Rom. We were protecting you." Rom shook her head, moving over to her sister.

"No! You didn't!" Rom dropped onto her knees, hugging her sister. "Y-You hurt Ram! How could you protect us?!" The crowd tried to move closer, but Rom pulled away. "Go away! I don't like you anymore!" The crowd gasped.

"But…"

"Go away!" The people dispersed, running and cry about Rom's rejection. The burly man was crying about his back at the same time. Rom immediately raised her hands over Ram and a bright green light shone over her. Uni pulled Nepgear over to the twins and knelt down.

"Rom… I…" Rom looked up to Uni, teary-eyed.

"Uni Onee-chan…" Rom lifted Ram to sitting position. "...that was scary." Uni nodded.

"Yeah, it was. You did a good job." Rom smiled and turned to Nepgear.

"Nepgear Onii-chan, are you okay?" Nepgear weakly nodded, the trail of blood branching off. "No, you're not." Rom held out her head and let the green light heal Nepgear. "Please don't do that again." Nepgear let his head hang.

"Sorry…" Ram grunted as she opened her eyes.

"Oooow… that hurt…" Ram put a hand over her head. Her eyes widened. "Nepgear-nii are you okay?!" Nepgear smiled.

"I'm okay, Ram. Thank you." Ram grinned. After a moment, the pink Candidate looked around.

"Where did everyone go?" Uni held back a laugh.

"Rom chewed them out and they left." Ram's eyes sparkled as Rom smiled softly, her cheeks slightly red.

"Really?! Rom you're so awesome!" Rom giggled as her sister hugged her. Uni looked around for Nepgear's bag of groceries. She found them off to the side, slightly covered in snow and some glass. The Lastation Candidate looked at Nepgear, who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"We should get home." Nepgear glanced at Uni and looked away. "Hey, you okay?" Nepgear gave a weak nod. "Okay, hold on for a second." Uni laid him on the snow."

"Y-Yeah…" Uni reached out for Nepgear's bag. "Uni?" Uni raised an eyebrow as she picked up the bag. Rom helped her sister to her feet, who acted like she didn't take a boulder to the head.

"What's up?" Nepgear smiled. It was a brighter smile than what Uni was used to.

"Thank you." Uni smiled back, reaching out to him.

"Come on, we're friends aren't we?" Nepgear stopped smiling, widening his eyes and his lips slightly parting. "...Nepgear?"

The young man shook his head and grabbed Uni's hand while keeping his eyes closed. Uni draped Nepgear's arm over her shoulder and stood up. Uni nodded to the twins.

"Let's go." The Candidates began their trek back to the carriage.

"Hey Uni?"

"Yeah?"

"How mad will our sisters be, when they hear about this?" Uni paused, glancing up for a second. After that second, Uni shook her head and continued walking.

"Pretty angry."

* * *

 ** **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank:**** ** **7 (Close)****

 ***Watch a certain event will raise the Lily Rank to 8***

 **Nepgear and Rom's Lily Rank: 7** → **8 (Sibling-like)**

 **Nepgear and Ram's Lily Rank: 7** → **8 (Sibling-like)**

 _ **Notice!**_

 **Nepgear has learned a New Stance!**

 **\- Twins' Stance**

 _ **Notice!**_

 _ **Nepgear has earned the Transformation: Rage Mode! Nepgear can now fill up the Exe Drive up to 25% or more and activate this form like HDD. It's not HDD, but it's something. *Be aware that certain Stances cannot activate Rage Mode, such as Twins' Stance.***_

 **Logs:**

 _ **Rage Mode (1):**_

 _ **Rage Mode is a flawed HDD. Nepgear cannot feel any emotion except for anger in Rage Mode, inhibiting his morals and awareness. This can cause immense damage to the immediate area and may cause**_ _ **friendly fire**_ _ **. Nepgear can activate Rage Mode as long as his Exe Drive his past 25%. However, there is a chance that Nepgear will be**_ _ **uncontrollable**_ _ **. Fortunately, Rage Mode can be turned off after a certain amount of time has passed when he is in this state.**_ _ **Please be careful about using it**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Rage Mode (2):**_

 _ **While in Rage Mode,**_ _ **Nepgear cannot swap Stances**_ _ **, but the current Stance he has will boost a certain stat. Nepgear will not flinch or react to any attacks, while his own attacks make a stronger impact on foes. Nepgear cannot**_ _ **pick up or use health items**_ _**in this form. Rage Mode**_ _ **will not turn off automatically**_ _**even when the Exe Drive is empty. The Exe Drive cannot be refilled in Rage Mode.**_ _ **Be aware of Nepgear's well-being before using it.**_

 _ **Rage Mode (3):**_

 _ **In Rage Mode, Nepgear's Exe Drive depletes faster than Uni's. If Rage Mode continues after the Exe Drive has been depleted, Nepgear's Hp will slowly drain**_ _**instead and the stat that was boosted will be debuffed. The debuff will depend on how much of Nepgear's remaining Hp was depleted. (50% of Nepear's health = 50% debuff). The debuff lasts until Rage Mode is turned on again, or a stat-boosting item is used. Be careful about using this Transformation excessively.**_


	13. Changes

Chapter 13: Change

* * *

" _After the incident with Lowee's Citizens, Rom and I brought Nepgear and Ram back to the Basilicomm. Needless to say, Blanc and Neptune were… Well, let's just say that they hunted down the people responsible and returned with dented metal bats. Also, I think Neptune decreed that the people of Lowee must pay some kind of tax for snacks. Although, I heard it was mostly for the 'dude with the KD muscles and the guy with the annoying pointy finger'._

" _We called Compa to Lowee in the next hour. She, along with IF, arrived by nightfall. I think IF because Neptune doesn't want anyone other than IF near her. When she arrived, Compa immediately looked after Nepgear and Ram._

" _Ram was fine after Rom healed her up, and Compa said she'd be fine by tomorrow at most. Meanwhile, Nepgear wasn't moving for a while. In fact, he didn't wake up when Compa arrived. Compa and Neptune took Nepgear to the hospital, where they found out that he had a concussion. Luckily, the damage wasn't too bad and Nepgear could rest up at home. However, he was basically a vegetable for a while._

" _Since Sis and the other CPUs were still talking about something and Nepgear was a CPU-ish grade of a plant, I was left to deal with the twins. Mina, Lowee's Oracle, was relieved to have some help. Considering the pranks they tend to pull, I'm amazing at her strength. Mental and physical._

" _At the same time, I had to deal Vert because her 'precious little brother and student' was out of commision. In order to quench her boredom, I had to dress up, press my head against her boo- sit in her lap and call her sis._

" _In exchange, Vert trained me in the Leanbox Martial Arts- Nepgear doesn't call Vert his Master out of brotherly love. Vert's a powerhouse, even without her lance. She hits_ _ **hard.**_ _I mean, a harder than a NUG truck chasing a blue hoghedge through the town and destroying everything in sight. Ugh, my back and my stomach._

" _In anycase, a week has passed by and Blanc called Nepgear o-"_

" _Heeeey? What's this thing?"_

" _Wha- Ram!? What are you doing here?!"_

" _Um… Hello..."_

" _Rom, don't touch that!"_

" _Why not Uni-nee?"_

" _This is my monologue!"_

" _What's a mono log?"_

" _It sounds funny… like a pair a log"_

" _Hey!"_

* * *

Nepgear opened the door, peeking his head inside the room. The young man was wearing a pair light blue and white striped pajamas that Blanc gave him.

"Hello? Blanc?" The lights were off and the curtains were drawn, shielding any light from entering the room. "I came here as soon as you ask-" A pair of hands grabbed Nepgear by the collar. "Heh?"

Yanked through the door, Nepgear was lifted into the air and dropped onto something soft. Suddenly, a table lamp that sat on the dresser turned on nearby. The hand that was still on the lamp gently let go of the lamp and rushed out to grab Nepgear's collar.

"Eeep?!" The hand's owner leaned closer into the light, revealing a Blanc with a twitchy eye. Nepgear immediately held his hands up.

"Well… Where is it?" Blanc held out her other hand, narrowing her eyes. Nepgear glanced at the hand, quivering slightly. Nepgear's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh, the ri-" Blanc's hand grabbed Nepgear's mouth in a vise grip fashion. "Mw."

"Give it." Nepgear held up his hand, making it flat. A small orb appeared above his hand. The orb turned into a flash, and a small black box landed on Nepgear's palm. Blanc released Nepgear's lips and swiped the box out of his hand.

"Ah… that really hurt." The young man messaged his lips as Blanc turned away.

Blanc opened the box under the light and sighed in relief. As Nepgear looked around, Blanc made a quick fist pump and slightly hunched over. Closing the box, Blanc immediately shoved into her the dresser.

"Thanks." Blanc glanced at Nepgear, narrowing her eyes. "Are you _sure_ the twins didn't see?" Nepgear nodded his head once.

"Y-Yeah, they left the moment you told me to."

"You didn't say I told them to, did you?" Nepgear shook his head.

"No." Blanc let out a sigh.

"Sorry, I just don't anyone finding out." Nepgear tilted his head to the side. Blanc could practically see the question mark bouncing and dancing over his head. "Think of it this way: The twins are so close to Vert, they'll tell her anything. Neptune's a complete idiot-"

"Hey, my sister's not-"

"No offense." Blanc rolled her eyes as Nepgear pouted. "Anyways, I couldn't tell Noire without her becoming a blushing, stuttering idiot. The only person I could rely on was you." Nepgear blinked.

"What about Uni?" Blanc raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"Lemme help you answer that. Who would you go to for help? Someone reliable you've known and trained for years or his best friend who's sister can't even make a friend?" Nepgear crossed arms, closing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows.

"Hmm…" Nepgear suddenly straightened up and opened his eyes wide. "Oh! That's right."

"What?" Nepgear held out his hand and another orb appeared. The orb transformed into a small plastic bag and landed gently in Nepgear's hand. Nepgear held the bag under the light. Blanc could see two circular objects glistening under the lamp's light. Blanc put her hands on her hips.

"Rings?" Blanc took the bag and observed the rings closer. One of the rings was made of a light purple metal, and the other one had a pearl gray color. Taking out the gray ring, Blanc peered at the side. The CPU saw a name: _Uni_. "The hell are these for?" Nepgear shrugged. Blanc found Nepgear's name under the purple ring

"I don't really know. While K' was making the rings, I talked him about what Uni and I did together." Blanc nodded.

"Go on." Nepgear pressed thumb against his chin, curling his fingers so that his knuckles kissed his lips.

"Well, he said 'Oh that's youth!'" Nepgear attempted to copy K's voice and waved his hand in the air. "And then made these while working on your ring." Blanc put the rings back, putting them next to the lap.

" _These have to be wedding rings… That guy…"_ Blanc glanced at Nepgear, who returned the stare. "Nepgear…" Blanc turned to her student and placed her hands on her lap. " _Better make sure he knows what they actually mean."_ Blanc patted the dresser. "Why do you think I had K' make this ring?" The Incomplete Candidate pressed his finger against his cheek.

"Is it… something special?" Blanc nodded.

"Yes. It's something special." Blanc glanced away for a second. " _God, it's like I'm telling him about the birds and the bees…"_ Blanc took a deep breath. "Why are rings normally made?"

"...To be put on?" Blanc tightly pressed her lips together.

"Yes, that's right. _Who's_ going to _wear_ it?" After a second of pondering, Nepgear pointed at Blanc. The CPU clenched her fist. "No! I'm giv-" Nepgear gasped.

"You're giving to Master, aren't you?!" Seeing Nepgear's eyes shine, Blanc released her fist and crossed her arms.

"...What of it?" The CPU turned away as her cheeks burned. Nepgear grinned.

"Wow! This is finally happening!" Nepgear clasped his hands together. Blanc glared at him when Nepgear said "finally". "Oh my goodness, Master is going to be super excited!" Nepgear leaned forward. "Oh! When are you going to tell her? Are you gonna do it privately or-" Blanc slapped her hand over Nepgear's mouth. "Mw."

"Shut it." Nepgear slowly nodded his head and Blanc roughly moved her hand away. Nepgear rubbed his mouth. "Anyways, yeah. I'm gonna tell her." Nepgear tried to squee but stopped when Blanc growled at him.

"W-Well, congratulations." Blanc quickly nodded once. "S-So…" Nepgear glanced at random places as Blanc sat in place. "...Why did you ask me that?" Blanc put her hand on top of the rings in the bag.

"Nepgear, what kind of rings did K' make you?" Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"Uh… rings to memorialize my friendship?" Blanc rolled her eyes.

"You can see it that way, but I don't think Uni will." Nepgear blinked twice.

"Why?" Blanc held bag up to Nepgear's face.

"These are wedding rings." Nepgear put his hands on the end of the bag.

"Eeeeh, really?" A smile made its way to Nepgear's face. "So what's the problem with the rings?" Blanc resisted the urge to slap her face.

"Nepgear…" Blanc took out the box she just received and shoved it in front of Nepear's face. "This ring. I'm going to use to propose to Vert." Nepgear smiled in confusion as Blanc pressed the box against his cheek. "To marry her." Blanc held up the bag. "These rings have the exact same purpose." Blanc dropped the bag onto Nepgear's lap. "Do you plan on marrying Uni?" Nepgear picked up the bag, rubbing his finger on the plastic above the rings.

"Marry?" Blanc nodded her head. "I don't think so." Nepgear stared at the rings. Blanc opened the drawer, placing the box inside it. "Hey, Blanc?" The CPU's hand lingered over the box.

"Hmm?" Nepgear opened and reached into the bag, taking out the gray ring.

"Why do you wanna marry Vert?" Blanc suddenly closed the door, startling the Incomplete CPU. Blanc tucked her chin in, gripping the dresser handle. Nepgear swore he heard the handles groan and crack.

"..." Blanc swallowed and slowly rose her head. Nepgear could barely see the blush on the CPU's face. "...Do you really want to know?" Nepgear crawled up the bed, a droplet of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

"Uh… yes?" Blanc sighed. The CPU turned away from Nepgear.

" _...I should just tell him straight out."_ Blanc put one hand on her hip. The CPU coughed into her fist and turned around to face Nepgear. Nepgear was surprised as Blanc was staring straight at him, face beet red. "The reason I want to marry Vert is a simple one: I love her." Nepgear lit up, holding his hand up in the air.

"Ooh! I love my master too!" Blanc froze, eyes wide. "And Neptune…" The CPU blinked slowly. "And Compa, and IF and Histoire an-" Blanc shook her head, slapping her cheeks. Glaring, Blanc clenched her fists.

"No! Like love love! Not like loving your friends or family!" Nepgear paused.

"That's different?" Blanc nodded, exasperated. Nepgear slightly tilted his head to the side. "...I'm not following." Blanc groaned.

" _Did Neptune not teach you any-"_ Blanc inhaled deeply. "No wait, she probably didn't."

"What?" Blanc shook her head.

"Nothing." Blanc moved to the bed and sat down next to Nepgear. "Nepgear, do you really not know the meaning of love- and I mean not related to family." Nepgear scratched his head.

"I… don't know?" Blanc furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Uh…" Nepgear put his hands over his head. "Um…" The young man gritted his teeth. Blanc patted Nepgear on the back.

"Look, I'm guessing it's difficult for you, so let me try to spell it out." Blanc held out one finger. "There's the love for your family, where they make you happy and loved." Blanc held up her pinky. "Then, there's the love for the special someone that you want to be with forever, who'll make you really happy and loved."

"Isn't that… the same thing?" Blanc waved her hand in front of Nepgear's face.

"Hold on. Now here's the difference. You love your sister right?" Nepgear nodded. "Obviously that's a given, your siblings and because of that blood relationship you'll care for each other. You'd do everything with each other. Then there's your friends- IF and Compa and His-"

"I think IF and Compa are like sister to me while Histoire i-" Blanc snapped her fingers, stopping the young man from finishing his sentence.

"Just follow me on this alright?" Nepgear nodded slowly. "You love your friends because of stuff you have in common or like about each other. You'd do stuff together once in awhile." Blanc opened up her other hand. "Finally, there's that one special person. That person you- and only you- love and that person- hopefully- returns those feelings. There are things that you would only want do with that person."

"Like?" Blanc shrugged.

"Holding hands, going on dates, spending time together…" Nepgear gasped.

"Like that romantic drama stuff IF says is girly and annoying but tries to watch in secret?!" Blanc raised her eyebrows. Nepgear slapped his hands over his mouth. "Oh goodness! Please don't tell her I told you that!"

"...I won't. Everyone has their hobbies." Blanc thought for a second. "Wait, you know about romance?" Nepgear shook his hand.

"So-so." Blanc sighed, letting her shoulders slacken.

"That makes this easier… It's pretty much romance." Nepgear's mouth made a circle. "In your case, pretty much everyone you know is put into the 'Friend' or 'Family' category of love." Blanc held took the ring from Nepgear's hand. "This, on the other hand, signifies that promise of marriage. The end goal of romance."

"Ooooh, that sounds sweet." Blanc nodded.

"It is."

"So that means you're reaching the goal?" Blanc nodded again. "Wow! Congratulations!" Flustered, Blanc tightened her grip on the ring.

"A-Anyways, K' made this ring thinking that you love Uni. Not as a friend, but as a romantic partner. That you'll reach the same goal that I just talked about." Nepgear's eyes widened, waving his hands at Blanc.

"W-What?! I didn't mean it like that?" Blanc narrowed her eyes.

"Do you really?" Blanc took the bag from Nepgear, dropping the ring in. "Tell me, what are your thoughts on Uni?" Nepgear paused.

"On Uni? Well… she's nice?" Blanc crossed her arms.

" _This might take a while…"_

"She can be pretty funny and Uni loves to talk about missions and training and stuff. Uni also looks out for me and helps me out whenever she can. She's also my first friend and…" Nepgear paused to catch his breath. "And she-"

" _Crap. I was right."_ The CPU reached out to her companion. " _Better stop him before this becomes annoying."_

"Nepgear." Nepgear paused.

"Yes?"

"I get the gist of it… sort of. You really like Uni." Nepgear smiled. "But… Nepgear's smile dropped for a second. "Do you like Uni as a friend… or as someone you love?" Blanc held up the bag again. "Before you think, look at this again: These rings mean that love Uni." Blanc pressed a finger against Nepgear's chest. "You're saying that the two of you are friends. Which is it?" Nepgear sat still, staring at the place where Blanc poked him. "Does your heart really want you two to be friends, or do you want to become something else?"

"Uni…? She's my friend. But…" Nepgear began to rub his forehead. "My heart? It says… Uh…" Nepgear squeezed his eyes shut. "Um… Err… Mmm..." Blanc quietly watched Nepgear mumble to himself. " _Uni's my friend. But… there are things I want to do with Uni, like Quests or just hanging out… but I do that with Rom and Ram, but they're my friends. Actually… I do that with Sis, Compa and IF. And Master… and Blanc… and… But… Uni… I…"_ Nepgear's face began to contort and his arms began to shake. Blanc began to worry.

"Hey, are you-" Suddenly, Nepgear grabbed onto Blanc's shoulders.

"Blanc!" The CPU blinked in surprise.

"Y-Yeah." Nepgear opened his eyes, showing Blanc that they were shivering.

"Could you tell me… how you fell in love with Master?" Blanc glared.

"Why should I-"  
"Please!" Nepgear let his head hang. "You don't have to tell me everything, just give me the general idea of what happened." Watching Nepgear, Blanc patted the young man's arm.

"Well, I did shove this onto you suddenly." Blanc blushed a little bit. "I'll tell you some of it- Not all of it. And only once!" Nepgear nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you…" Blanc nodded. The CPU intertwined her fingers and stared at her hands.

"It might be a little startling for you but… Vert and I didn't get along at first." Blanc toyed with her hair. "We would get into arguments almost every time we met." Blanc shook her head in frustration. "She'd piss me off whenever she felt like it. It was annoying." Nepgear tilted his head to the side.

"What did she say?" Blanc crossed her arms over her chest and turned away.

"...I'd rather not talk about it." Blanc sighed. "Anyways, it all happened one day when I was outside with Rom and Ram." The CPU made a small smile as her cheeks slightly burned. "Vert suddenly appeared one day and she jokingly said that we should get married…" Blanc rubbed her face. "A week later, she confessed to me. I didn't believe her at first…"

"Wow…" Nepgear watched as Blanc shrugged her shoulders.

"I couldn't believe it. The one woman I hated the most for a good portion of my life, just told me she loved me."

"Did you respond?" Blanc shook her head.

"Not immediately, she was gone before I could say anything…"

"Wait, why?" Blanc sighed.

"Don't… sweat the details." Blanc took off her hat and ran her hand through her hair. "After that, Vert began to pop up every now and then, wanting to spend time with me. If I wanted her to be around or not." The CPU fell onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. "Despite the fact that I hated her, I couldn't help the fact that I was slowly falling in love with her. Against all my defenses… Vert pierced through all of them-" Nepgear giggled. "Shut up, I realized when the words came out- But soon enough, Vert began to invade my world. She began to make me feel warm and happy every time she was around. I felt safe in her arms. As if every time she helps me, she makes me complete."

"Really?!" Nepgear stared at his hands. " _That kinda feels like… when I'm with Uni."_

"Yeah. Really." Blanc smiled, putting her hands on her lap. "That's all I'm gonna talk about now." Blanc dropped her smile. "So, is there anything else you wanna know?" Nepgear had one hand over his heart. Another hand was over his eyes. "Nepgear?"

Startled, Nepgear glanced up at his Master's lover.

"Huh?! Y-Yes, that's all I need to know." Blanc raised an eyebrow.

"You look like there's something wrong… Or should I say something's right?" Nepgear stood up, dropping the bag on the bed.

"Bl-Blanc!Igottago!Thanksforthetalk!CanIleavethishere?Thanks,bye!" The young man bolted out of the door, slamming it shut as he left.

Blanc stared at the bag, picking it up after a second.

"Hmm. I think that'll help him out a bit… I might have caused some trouble for Uni." Blanc tossed the bag into her drawer. "Oh well. At least it's not my problem for now."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Nepgear ran through the hallways, his face flushing a bright pink.

" _I… All this time, I've…"_ Nepgear ran past Compa.

"Hi Ge-... Ge-Ge?" As Compa watched Nepgear run by, the Incomplete Candidate ran into a pillar and stumbled out an open window. "...I think I should grab some bandages. And a warm water bottle." Compa turned around.

Nepgear fell into a pile of snow in the courtyard, his head to his waist buried into the froze water flakes. Uni walked out of a door, carrying a pile of documents under her arm.

"Geez, I wouldn't have expected Vert to skip out on her work." The young girl sighed. "Didn't think she was the kind to do that…" Uni noticed the pair of legs sticking out of the snow. "Hey… those pajamas look like- Nepgear?!"

Rushing over to her romantic interest, Uni dropped the documents on a dry spot on the floor and grabbed Nepgear by the legs.

"Nnnrgh…!" With one powerful yank, Nepgear popped out of the snow. Uni fell onto her back, while Nepgear landed on his butt.

"Pwaaah!" Nepgear shook, throwing off some snow off of him. Shivering a bit, Nepgear glanced around. "W-what happened?"

"Uuu…" Hearing a voice, Nepgear turned around. To his surprise, he was sitting on top of Uni. "How do you end up in a pile of snow?" Nepgear's eyes widened as Uni tried to sit, only able to prop herself on her shoulders.

"..." Nepgear grabbed his chest and his mouth hung open.

"Nepgear?" The young man grabbed his friend by the shoulders, stood up and pulled Uni to sitting position. "Oh, thanks." Uni reached for her documents.

"Igottago!Bye!" Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" Nepgear suddenly dashed away, causing some wind to kick up Uni's hair along with some snow. The CPU Candidate sat still, looking around. "What… just happened?"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Nepgear burst into his room, gasping for breath. His hand still on his chest, Nepgear stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on it.

"What's…" Nepgear closed his eyes. " _What's happening to me?"_

As the young man lay on his bed, a dark mist began to rise out of his body. Squeezing his eyes tighter, Nepgear rolled to his side and curled into a ball.

" _Everything… My head hurts… my heart, I can't feel it…"_ Nepgear grasped his head, curling further into a ball. " _ **If…"**_

" _ **If only…"**_ The dark mist began to engulf Nepgear.

" _ **If only I could destroy it all…"**_

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

 _Nepgear ran through a meadow, stumbling for a second before catching his fall._

 _" **Nepgear?"** The young man glanced around, searching for the voice. A voice he'd been familiar with for so long, he couldn't bear without hearing it for a day._

 _" **Uni?"** Nepgear turned around, seeing his longtime friend behind him._

 _" **Where'd you go?"** Uni was facing to the side, so that she couldn't see him. Grinning, Nepgear raised his hand high and began waving it._

 _" **Ah, Uni. Over here!"** Uni turned to face Nepgear. Putting her hands on her hips, the girl pouted._

 _" **Geez, stop running ahead all the time!"** Nepgear rubbed the back of his head as Uni crossed her arms as she walked over to him._

 _" **Who knows if something might happen to you? Even if I'm not around, you have to be careful!"** Nepear giggled._

 _" **Sorry. Sorry."** Puffing out one cheek, Uni turned away. After a second, the girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye._

 _" **Hey Nepgear?"**_

 _" **Yeah?"**_

 _" **You've worked hard, y'know."** Uni smiled brightly at Nepgear._

 _" **Uh-huh!?"** The young girl suddenly latched onto Nepgear, pressing close to him. " **W-Wha? Uni?**_

 _" **You earned a reward…"** With one gentle push, Nepgear fell onto the soft grass while Uni landed on him._

 _" **Wha-Wha-Huh?! WHat?! Kya!"**_

 _" **Ehehe… Nepgear…"** There a slight blush on Uni's cheeks as she lay flat on Nepgear._

 _" **Uh… Y-Yeah…"** Uni put one hand on Nepgear's a slight smile, Uni crawled closer to Nepgear's face._

 _" **You know… I…"** Once she was close enough, Uni closed her eyes and..._

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Gyaaaaaaaaah!" Nepgear push himself up, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from the young man's face. "Wh-What was that dream?" Gasping for breath, Nepgear flopped onto his side.

" _Uni was…"_ Nepgear swallowed, using his tongue to pull in any kind of moisture. " _Uni was…"_ The young man's breath hitched up. Suddenly, Nepgear froze. "Why are my…" The Incomplete Candidate grabbed the waistband of his pajamas, and pulled them. "...What is that…" Nepgear sat up, looking around. "...I should call Compa tomorrow." Climbing into his sheets, Nepgear stared at the ceiling.

" _What's wrong with me?"_ Nepgear's eyes drooped between opening and closing. " _Uni… I…"_ The color Nepgear's eyes swapped between violet and red with each blink. " _ **Uni…I..."**_

" _ **Uni… I hate you."**_

* * *

 ** **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank:**** ** **7 (Close)****

 ***Watch a certain event will raise the Lily Rank to 8***


	14. Shifting Gears

Chapter 14: Shifting Gears

* * *

"Nepgear was acting weird yesterday." Uni sauntered through Lowee's hallways, heading towards Nepgear's room. The young girl rubbed her eyes. "Better check on him."

As the young girl reached Nepgear's room, the door opened and Neptune walked out of the door. Compa was pushing the grinning CPU into the hallway.

"..worry, Gear. It's natural for boys your age." Uni could barely hear Nepgear's stammer.

"B-Bu-But…!"

"No, buts! ...Unless you're into that kinda stuff." Nepgear was now screaming, taking breaths in between screams. "Gear, cut it out! I was just kidding!" Suddenly, IF made a weird noise. "N-Nepgear, stop showing me your fetishes! I'm into boo- Uh, An-Anyways, I gotta go!" IF hopped out of the room, rubbing her rear. The Guild Agent turned to the door. "Oh, and you should let that calm down befo-" A box of tissues flew by IF and hit Neptune on the head. "Don't throw stuff at us!" Nepgear sounded like a person trying to imitate a panicking cat. "Later!" IF slammed the door shut and leaned against it. Compa was rubbing Neptune's head, while the latter had tears streaming down her face.

"It's happening, Compa! N-Now, Nep Jr.'s going to start smoking and staying till' dawn..." Neptune blew her nose onto her hoodie sleeve and Compa dabbed away the rest with a heart embroidered handkerchief. "A-Aand he's gonna be looking up weird stuff on Nepchan and start glaring at everyone and- and-" Neptune buried her face into IF's chest. "AND LISTEN TO ANGSTY SONGS ON FULL BLAAAAAAAST!" A droplet of sweat rolled down IF's face as she patted Neptune on the head while another one rolled down Uni's face as she watched the scene in front of her play out.

"Calm down, Nep-Nep! Ge-Ge would never do any of that!" Compa noticed the CPU Candidate, waving at the girl. "Morning Uni-Uni, did you sleep alright?" Uni nodded her head, yawning.

"It was alright…" Uni glanced at Nepgear's dooring, hearing faint sounds from the other side. "What happened to Nepgear?" Compa made an awkward smile.

"W-Well, Ge-Ge's in a pretty… new situation." The nurse pressed down on her breasts. "I don't think we should stick too close to him for a while." IF shook her head.

"I think this is the time where we watch Gear more closely." Compa nodded, straightening the CPU next to her.

"I meant we should give him a little more space." IF crossed her arms, conscious of the tears that soaked up her shirt.

"Oh, that's what you meant." IF turned to Uni. "I'm pretty sure that applies to you too." Uni rubbed her face.

"Me? Why me?" Neptune took a deep breath.

"I wood like you to be close to Nep Jr., Uni. I do. But in the mornings, and maybe nights, Nepgear might need some space. And we need to wear more clothes." Uni blinked.

"...What."

"Nep Jr.'s got a lot stress built up, so he's gotta get some time to himself is all I'm sayin'." Uni furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm not following."

"Well, he's gotta jer-" IF slapped her hand over Neptune's mouth.

"That's a bit too much, Nep." IF nodded to the CPU Candidate. "Gear's in a bit of a rough spot, so try to be considerate of him." Uni nodded slowly.

"Okay?" Compa leaned closer to the young girl.

"We'll tell you later. For now, let's go eat." IF grabbed Neptune by the collar and pulled her down the hallway.

"But…" Compa took Uni's hand and guided her after the two. Uni turned back as Nepgear's door got smaller and smaller.

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After breakfast, Uni returned to Nepgear's door because he hadn't come to eat. While they were eating, Neptune whispered into Blanc, Vert and Noire's ears one at a time. Blanc gagged on her rice. Vert blushed a bit and giggled to herself. Noire spat out her food and yanked Neptune out of the room. Rom and Ram quickly followed Compa's lead and cleaned after Noire's mess while IF facepalmed and sighed.

Vert gave Uni a tray of food and asked the Candidate to bring it to him. The tray had a bowl of rice, a couple of rolled up fried eggs, three strips of bacon that were saved from Neptune's wrath and a cup of orange juice. Trying to keep the tray from falling, Uni kicked at the door.

"Hey, Nepgear! Brought some breakfast!" There was no response. "Hey… I'm pretty sure you're not on a diet, since guys don't normally do that. Did something blow up again?" Once again, nothing. Setting down the tray on the floor, Uni leaned close to the door. "I'm gonna come inside, alright?" Uni heard a quiet gasp and shuffling. " _So he was inside."_ Grabbing onto the door knob, Uni turned it.

"Alright, I'm coming in!" The shuffling turned into bangs and clangs. "Uh…" Pushing the door open, Uni looked inside to see the room was completely neat. " _Huh… I thought Nepgear's room would be a me-"_ On the center of Nepgear's bed, was a doggo-shaped object. "What are you doing?" The object flinched. Uni scratched her cheek and picked up the tray. Walking over to a nearby table, the Candidate found a couple of empty Nep Bull bottles and a few pages of blueprints that was bunched into balls. Uni swept them away and placed the tray onto the table.

Turning to the blanket dogoo, Uni crossed her arms.

"I know it's Lowee, but you don't hibernate." The blob didn't move. "I know you're not asleep, Nepgear." Once again, the blob didn't move. "Hey." Eyebrows furrowed, Uni grabbed the top of the blanket. "Get up already!" Uni heard Nepgear gasp underneath the blanket. The Candidate pulled with all her might. However, the blanket didn't fly off of her friend. Uni could see Nepgear's fingers and toes straining against the blanket. "Why are you resisting?!"

"Uni, please!" The girl froze.

"What?" The blob relaxed slightly. Uni immediately tugged at the blanket, which gave way. Nepgear's head was uncovered, but the Incomplete Candidate grabbed onto the edges of the blanket and obstructed Uni's progression. As a result, only Nepgear's head was freed from it's comfy prison. The young man pouted.

"Uni, I'm kinda in a bit of a bind right now…" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"What, is there another citizen throwing bricks at you?" Nepgear shook his head. "Well, I'm free right now so you can talk my ear out." Uni whipped around, planting her rear right next to Nepgear.

Nepgear turned his head to his friend but froze. Nepgear's eyes focused on the ends of Uni's dress, which folded over her thighs. Biting his lip and swallowing, Nepgear could feel his face heating up. The Incomplete Candidate twitched and ducked under the covers.

" _Oh, goodness! Not again!?"_ Uni grew annoyed as she watched Nepgear retreat.

"Hey! Are you gonna spit it out or not?" The blob bounced.

"I can't!" Uni raised an eyebrow.

"And why not?"

"It's embarrassing!" Uni rolled her eyes.

"Nepgear, I saw your butt and you almost naked. You didn't even flinch. How could something else be worse than that?" The Gear-blob shivered.

"It's worse!" Uni blinked. Now she was curious. Literally, Uni believed that there was nothing that could top Nepgear basically being naked.

"Okay, you have to tell me now." Uni pressed her hands on what she believed was Nepgear's back. "Come on!"

"I-I…" The blob tightened. "I have an-"

The door suddenly swung open and Neptune burst into the scene. Uni stared at the CPU.

"Neptune? What's u- Ooof!?" The CPU tackled Uni off the bed and forced her arms behind her back. "Ow-What is- Ouch! Hey, quit it!"

"I got her!" Neptune triumphantly pulled Uni to her feet. The Candidate looked around, bewildered.

"What is going on?!" Compa rushed into the room, carrying a towel. The nurse threw the towel over Nepgear's blanket covered body, but the ends of the towel stopped halfway from the mattress.

"It's okay, Ge-Ge. You're okay now. Go ahead and eat when you're feeling better, okay?" Compa pointed towards Neptune and Uni.

"Nep-Nep, take the suspect to the courtroom!" Neptune, holding down Uni with one hand, saluted the nurse.

"Aye-eye! Ma'am!" Neptune began dragging Uni towards the door.

"Wait, courtroom? Guys, what's going on?" Compa grabbed Uni's legs and lifted her up. "Hey, watch it! That tickles- Wait! Nepgear!"

The duo carried Uni out of the room, slamming the door shut.

After a minute, Nepgear popped his head out from under the blanket. The Incomplete Candidate's face was flushed from a combination of embarrassment and a lack of air. Nepgear flattened his body against the bed.

"Oooooh…" Nepgear put his hands over his head. "I can't believe I felt like that…" Nepgear rolled onto his side. " _I'm sorry, Uni. I'm a terrible friend…"_

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Puberty." The words were foreign to Uni's mouth, but she had heard of it before. Mostly when she was surfing through the InterNep and found a Neppit that spoke of it. Never would she go back to that forum again. " _Nepgear's_ going through puberty."

IF nodded. Now that Uni wasn't being carried across Lowee's Basilicomm, the girl noticed that Neptune was wearing shorts. Compa had worn a sweater with sleeves that were attached and IF had closed her jacket.

"Yeah, it was kinda awkward to say. Gear's gonna be an emotional wreck from time to time, but please try to be a bit conservative around him." Noire walked into the room, dressed as she normally was.

"Uni, you alright? I heard Neptune was carrying you like a- Wha-?!" Neptune suddenly wrapped her arms around Noire's waist and tried to lift her. "N-N-Neptune, what the hell are you doing?!" Neptune was able to lift Noire a little bit, but couldn't move.

"I found another one!" IF rolled her eyes.

"Nep, that's enough." As Compa and IF tried to prevent Neptune from pissing off Noire any further, Uni stared at her clothes.

" _Conservative, huh?"_ Uni blinked. " _Wait, Nepgear reacted to this?"_ Uni's cheeks tinted a light red. " _I-I mean it's not necessarily a bad thing to know…"_ Uni furiously shook her head. " _No! No! Bad Uni! Your best friend is going to start struggling and all you can think of is how he could react to your clothes?! Ugh, I'm terrible…"_ Uni inhaled deeply. " _I should wear something less revealing next ti- Wait."_ Uni crossed her arms. " _I think this might be my least revealing outfit… That's not good. But, my clothes facilitate ease of movement when I'm on Quests… But Nepgear… But…"_ Uni smacked her lap with her hands. " _Maybe I should borrow Noire's clothe- Wait, she doesn't know that I watch her dress up every night! How am I gonna-"_ Uni stared at her figure, eyes freezing in place. " _ **I don't even know if they're gonna fit."**_

As Uni groaned and kicked, Neptune, Noire and Compa watched from the side. Noire's dress was ruffled from Neptune's handling and Neptune had a bump on her head. Compa waa currently putting a bandage on the bump.

"Hey, Noire. Mini-you is acting kinda funny. I bet she's better at parties than your lonely butt." Noire responded with a simple smack to Neptune's head. "Nepu-!" Another bump appeared and Compa immediately went to work. As Compa was fixing up Neptune's unfixable head, the CPU of Planeptune looked around. "Hey, where's Iffy?"

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Nepgear stepped out of his room, quickly glancing around. When no one was in sight, the young man sighed in relief. Nepgear left his hand on the doorknob.

" _Gear, you're gonna start feeling a little different when you look at people. I mean that both literally and metaphorically. In all honesty, it's up to you which you think are your real feelings or not. We'll be here for you, alright?"_

"What is wrong with me…?" Nepgear tightened his grip on the doorknob. "Why do I have to go through this…?" The young man's shoulders began to shake softly as he gritted his teeth.

" _ **Because you're defective…"**_ Startled, Nepgear released the doorknob. A burning sensation seared through his mind and he grabbed his head, stepping backwards. " _ **You're nothing but a failure."**_

"Stop!" Nepgear leaned against the wall, sucking in air as his brain pulsed. The Incomplete Candidate could barely see through his eyes as the sensation trickled throughout his mind. "...Wh-Who are you? What are you?!"

" _ **You don't know…?"**_ Nepgear slid onto the floor as his head burned. The Incomplete Candidate gasped and moaned as he shivered. " _ **Who else can I be? I'm in**_ _ **your**_ _**head."**_

"N-No… stop it…" Nepgear dropped to his side. "I-I… You are…" The young man moaned and began clawing at his heart. "G-Get out…" A tiny ribbon of black mist wrapped itself around Nepgear's neck.

"O...?...y! Ne...r!" Nepgear could barely hear the voice that tried to soothe his pain. "..re yo..okay?" Nepgear began to shiver uncontrollably and his senses began to dull.

" _What is… happening to me?"_ As his vision began to blur, Nepgear could see himself stand and shove away something green and yellow as he swung something with his other hand.

" _ **The truth is happening."**_ Suddenly, Nepgear's vision cleared.

Vert was standing in front of him, frightened. The CPU had her lance out, but kept it behind her. Vert held her other hand out in front of her. There was a cut across her stomach.

" _Master? What's…"_

" **You know… I really hated how you never took me seriously."** Nepgear held out his Gear-Saber, waving it nonchalantly at Vert. " **Always acting as if I would be the 'precious little brother' forever… HA!"**

" _Wait, what am I… I'm not doing this!"_ Nepgear tried to put his arm down, but his body wouldn't respond. " _What?! No! Master, run away! I can't control myself!"_ Nepgear began to laugh maliciously.

" **You know, I always wondered if other CPUs could bleed…"** Vert shook her head.

"Nepgear, please don't do this. We can talk this out." Nepgear smirked.

" **Oh goodness! Do let us talk this out…"** Nepgear mockingly imitated Vert's voice. " **Psh, don't be so boring."** Nepgear readied his blade. " **Let's have some fun!"** Nepgear lunged forward and Vert jumped back.

" _No!"_

A loud gunshot resounded throughout the hallway and Nepgear felt immense pain in his shoulder. The young man dropped onto his knee, whipping his head around. Grabbing his shoulder, Nepgear grinned in delight as he saw IF pointing a pistol at him.

" _IF?"_

" **Oh, Iffy~! Did you wanna play Bloodbath, too?!"** Nepgear slowly stood up, grinning from ear to ear.

"Gear… what are you doing?" Nepgear laughed again. He laughed a laugh that he couldn't understand.

" **Oh, come on. Iffy. Can you really not tell?"** The Incomplete Candidate was quickly reduced to chuckles as IF held her gun steady.

"You're not making any sense, Gear!" Nepgear smugly shook his head.

" **Of course it won't make sense."** Nepgear tightened his grip on his blade.

" _...No. What am I doing?! No. No. No."_ Nepgear crouched low.

" **If you're dead!"** Nepgear ran towards IF, blade pointed towards IF's heart.

" _NO!"_ As Nepgear ran towards IF, the young man moved his left arm and grabbed his face.

" **Wha-"** Using all the force he could muster, Nepgear slammed his head against the wall. " **Guh…"** IF and Vert watched in confusion as Nepgear repeatedly slammed his head against the wall.

"Nepgear, please stop hurting yourself!"

" **Sto-"** With one last slam, Nepgear released his blade and slumped onto the floor. " **You… bas…"**

As Nepgear's eyes closed, he could feel a wave of relief wash over him. Whether it was the potential concussion he gave himself or stopping whatever was happening to him didn't matter.

" _I don't… care who you are… Stay away… from my… friends…"_

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"Nngh…" Nepgear's eyes slowly opened. "Augh… my head…" The young man tried to touch his forehead, but a hand caught his.

"Ah, you're awake." Following the soft voice, Nepgear looked into the eyes of a worried Vert. "We were so worried when you smashed your head against the wall." IF, from Nepgear's other side, helped the CPU Candidate up to a sitting position.

"Gear, what happened to you? All of a sudden, I just see you going crazy trying to kill Lady Vert- Sorry for shooting you. I had to do something." Nepgear shook his head slowly.

"It's okay… as for what happened…" Nepgear gripped his head as it felt like something was zapping his brain. "Aaaaargh!" Nepgear shook and twitched. IF and Vert tried to hold the young man down. As Vert pushed on Nepgear's shoulder, she noticed a black line encircling the young man's neck.

"What's this?" Vert turned to IF. "Iffy, would you please hold Nepgear's head?" IF complied to Vert's request and turned Nepear's head towards herself, revealing the line to Vert. Vert peered closely and saw some form of energy flowing through the line. "Are these… Shares?" Vert reached out with her finger and poked at the line.

Nepgear suddenly lurched and screamed out in pain. The black energy line began to sizzle, burning Nepgear's skin. The black energy flashed white and back to black, slowly turning a dark purple color. The energy quickly sunk into Nepgear's neck and left a visible line where it was. Nepgear, at the same time, slowly stop spazzing and lied down quietly as he was drenched in sweat.

"Lady Vert…" Vert stroked Nepgear's head.

"We have to call Histoire." IF nodded and grabbed one of her phones, stepping outside. Vert continued stroking Nepgear's head. Nepgear was breathing normally now. Vert made a worried frown. "Nepgear… what's happening to you?"

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank: 7**

 ***View a certain event to increase these characters' Lily Rank.**


	15. Negatives & Positives

Chapter 15: Negatives & Positives

* * *

Neptune, Noire and Blanc were sitting in the living room, watching over the twins while Compa went to look for IF. Vert had left earlier to check on Nepgear, but hadn't shown up in a while. Uni was still sitting around, groaning about her non-existant sex appeal that only Nepgear would be affected by.

Ram held up a drawing to her older sister.

"Hey, Blanc! Look!" Blanc stared at a crude drawing of herself. The Blanc on the paper was made of crayon, and was glaring back at the original. Smirking, Blanc patted a happy Ram on the head. After a second, Blanc noticed that there were drawings underneath Ram's. Squinting her eyes, Blanc gripped onto the grinning Ram's head and held back a gasp.

"...Ram. Where did you find this?" Ram pointed out the door.

"A ton of boxes with these things just came in! There's so many, so you can't say we ruined all of them~!" Blanc suddenly stood, patted Ram on the head one more time and dashed out the door. Neptune and Noire glanced at each other, confused. Neptune chased after Blanc. The moment Planeptune's CPU went out the door, there was a large crash combined with the sound of something shattering. Uni flinched. Neptune paused, squeezing one eye shut and gritting her teeth.

"Uh… that was Blanc running down the hall, turning the corner and running into a table with a vase. That fell over." Noire rolled her eyes.

"I'll find a broom and some towels." As Noire left the room, Uni stood up and turned towards a wall. Ram stared at her friend.

"Uni-nee, what's up?" Uni narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not sure… but…" The sound was covered by Blanc's tumble, so Uni wasn't so sure. " _That sounded like a gun…"_ There was a small kid- a kid CPU, but a kid. Uni didn't want to make any assumptions, but she was worried about Nepgear. "U-Uh, I was just thinking if Nepgear ate or something…" Ram gave a cat-like grin.

"Ooooh, really?" Uni nudged the girl away.

"Yes, now go bother someone else!" Ram giggled and dashed away, hiding behind the chair Uni was sitting. The CPU Candidate stuck her tongue out at her older companion. Rolling her eyes, Uni looked towards back to the wall.

Scratching the back of her ear, Neptune returned back to her seat.

"Hmm…" Neptune glanced as the Candidates as Ram reached over to a plate of cookies sitting on the table in front of her. On the table were some glasses of milk alongside the cookies. "Hey, Ram. What kinda of cookies are those?" Ram grabbed a cookie and stuffed it into her mouth, crumbs cascading down from her hand.

"Mufuwete." Neptune dived for the bowl, snatching two cookies in each hand. The girl stuffed one handful of treats into her mouth, but didn't make any crumbs fall. Ram's eyes widened. "Moah, hiw fif fu fo fhaf?!" Neptune pounded her chest proudly and grabbed a glass of milk that sat on the table. As the CPU of Planeptune downed her drink, Noire entered with broom and dustpan in hand.

"Neptune. Help me clean this u-" Noire stopped in her tracks, dropping the items in her hand. Using her now free hand, Noire pointed at the sipping Neptune. "H-Hey, that's my milk?!" Mid-sip, Neptune glanced at the coaster that was now vacant. The coaster had a small crude drawing of Noire, courtesy of the twins. Neptune turned to another glass next to it. Lifting it up, the purplette found her own picture. Swallowing her mouthful of processed dairy, Neptune gently put down the glass and put her hands behind her back. As Noire slowly grew redder and redder, Neptune tried to make her most innocent smile. "Y-Y0-YOU….!?"

Feeling a shiver up her spine, Neptune held her hands in surrender.

"N-Now now, Noire. N-No need to get all Histy-Pissty on us…" Ram glanced up as she swallowed her cookies.

"I didn't do anything." Uni turned away from her wall as Ram tended to the snacks.

"That was all you, Neptune." The Lastation Candidate returned to her self-imposed post.

"Wh-Wha-!? C-Come on girls!" Noire grabbed Neptune's collar as the purplette reached for the Candidates. "Y-You can't just leave the cute and adorable protagonist alone to deal with the tsun-tsun devil loner!" Noire's grip tightened.

" _What did you say?!"_ Neptune opened her mouth to correct herself. As the air was leaving her lips, a bright light appeared next to the two CPUs and caused Noire to drop Neptune. The smaller CPU closed her eyes as she landed on the floor.

Once the light died down, it left behind a frantic Histoire. The Oracle looked around quickly to gather her surroundings.

"Huh, Histy? What's up?" Histoire immediately turned around and faced Neptune, locking eyes with her. The moment Neptune saw Histoire's eyes, the CPU's eyes widened and attempted to get up. Histoire shook her head and turned towards the door. Uni and Ram, still shocked from Histoire's sudden appearance, watched as the Oracle flew through the door.

"..." Noire looked at the door, then at the suddenly serious Neptune. Then back the door.

"What just happened?" Neptune grasped onto Noire's arm, wrapping her arms tightly around the Lastation CPU's. "Wa-wa-wait, what are you…" Neptune glanced up, eyes sparkling.

"Hey, Noire. Let's go out!" Everything inside Noire's brain froze, her heart skipped three beats and her mouth hung open. After a couple seconds of letting her brain buffering, Noire noticed that there was a small tear forming in the corner of Neptune's eye.

"Neptune?" The smaller CPU tugged at her friend's arm and Noire leaned closer.

" _If Histy's here and panicking, something might be wrong with Nep Jr…"_ Noire held back a gasp and glanced back Neptune, nodding quickly.

" _Do you want to check on him?"_ Noire noticed Ram and Uni getting curious. Neptune shook his head.

" _Histy should be good enough…"_ Neptune stared at her shoulder. " _She'll be better for him than me…"_ Noire stared at Neptune.

"Neptune…" Uni stood up from her spot.

"Noire? What was Histoire doing here?" Noire coughed into her hand and gently pushed Neptune off of herself.

"U-Uh, Histoire? She was…" Noire glanced around quickly for an excuse. "Um…"

"Histoire needed some papers from Vert, and left to look for her." Everyone turned to the door, and Blanc walked back into the room while herding Rom into the room. Rom was carrying a book in her hands, looking pleased with herself.

Uni blinked a couple times, letting her shoulders sag.

"Oh… uh, okay then." Blanc glanced at the two CPUs and gently pushed Rom towards the Candidates, telling her to go and play. Lowee's CPU then gestured to the two.

"What's that, Rom?" The small girl happily showed the book to Uni. Lastation's Candidate sat down and took the book. Glancing at the book's cover, Uni realized this was a comic book for that convention that happens once in awhile in one of the four countries. Flipping through the book, Uni saw drawings, scribbled in crayon, throughout the entire book.

"Ram, sis liked our drawings. Hehe." Ram beamed.

"Really?! Sweet!" Rom plopped herself on top of Uni's lap and began pointing at pictures as Uni flipped through them. Meanwhile, Ram pressed herself against Uni's arm, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"So," Blanc whispered in a hushed tone. "What's going on?" Neptune cupped her hands over her mouth and Blanc leaned forward.

" _Whisper, whisper… Explain, explain… blah blah…"_ Blanc nodded.

"Got the gist of it. You want us to distract the Candidates or something?" Neptune groaned inwardly. Staring down at the ground, Planeptune's CPU gripped the ends of her jacket.

"Yeah…" Blanc nodded and clapped her hands, causing the Candidates and the other CPUs to look at her.

"Hey, wanna go out today?" Rom and Ram looked at each other. Both of the twins smiled, but the latter grinned widely and the former made a tiny smile. Ram held out a hand.

"Oooh! Me! Me! I wanna go somewhere!" Rom nodded her head, careful not to hit Uni. However, the Candidate's hat fell of her head and onto the book Uni was holding.

"Blanc, where we going?" Blanc shrugged her shoulders.

"How about, Lo-Mart?" Ram pouted again.

"Again?! You always go to that dummy dumb place to get your dumb writing stuff!" Blanc scoffed.

"Fair enough. Then where do you wanna go?" Ram and Rom, crossed their arms, falling deep into thought. Uni was trying to move Rom's hand out of the way, getting interested into Blanc's story alongside Rom's little doodles. Neptune was staring at her hands, playing with her fingers while glancing at the doorway every other second. Worried for her friend, Noire bit her lip. Suddenly, a location popped into Noire's head.

"What about LowLake?" Blanc turned to Lastation's CPU, raising an eyebrow.

"That department store?" Noire scratched her cheek, flushing a bit.

"What, got any other ideas?" Blanc shook her head.

"Not really." Blanc looked at the Candidates. "Well, you wanna go there?" The twins looked at each other.

"I wanna go!" The twins called out simultaneously. Ram held her left arm and Rom held out her right. Noire turned to Neptune, who was still looking out the door.

"Neptune…" Noire smiled at her friend. Leaning closer, the CPU whispered into Neptune's ear. "You can get something for Nepgear while your there, maybe even eat some pudding and cheer up." A small smile graced Neptune's lips.

"Yeah… thanks Noire." Neptune's smile got bigger. "Y'know, you're a pretty sweet gal every now and then." Noire frowned.

"What makes you think I wouldn't be?" As she saw Neptune's smirk, Noire rolled her eyes. "Ugh, whatever. That's getting old, by the way." Neptune pouted as Noire crossed her arms and turned away.

"Aw… but you'll always be my loner Noire~!" Neptune attempted to hug Lasation's CPU from behind, but the CPU of Planeptune was beaned on the head from the side.

Noire stepped aside in surprised as Blanc dusted her hands.

"Sorry, but that was going to get ridiculous…" Noire cleared her throat as Neptune shook her head, rubbing the spot where the book hit her. "Now then, let's get going." As the twins cheered and moved away from her, Uni stood up.

"Um… what about Vert, IF, Compa, Histoire… and Nepgear?" Blanc stared at the Candidate before shrugging.

"I'll see if any of them want to go, you just get yourself ready." Uni hesitated before nodding. Rom and Ram bounced excitedly beside her.

"Oooh! Oh! I wonder what we're gonna get?" As Ram pondered, Rom had stars in her eyes.

"I can't wait! Sparkle! Sparkle!" As Uni watched the two sparkle, the girl noticed Blanc quickly exit the room.

" _Nepgear…"_

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

"Come on in, quickly…" Vert opened the door to Nepgear's stepping aside as Histoire flew in. After Histoire, Compa shuffled into the room. "Did no one else come?" Histoire shook her head.

"No, I believe not." Compa ran over to Nepgear, worried.

"Ge-Ge! Are you okay?!" Nepgear was lying in bed, strapped onto the mattress. The young man was dripping with sweat. Nepgear's shirt was removed, revealing an open bullet wound. Compa gasped. "What happened?!"

IF tensed up as she stared at Compa's surprise. Gripping the ends of her shorts, she watched as Compa and Histoire tended to the wound. Vert placed a hand on IF's shoulder, startling the Guild Agent.

"L-Lady Vert!" Vert gave IF a reassuring smile.

"You did what you believed what was right, Iffy." Histoire turned to IF as Compa inspected the wound.

"...IF, you did this?" IF remorsefully stared at her lap.

"...I had to. If I didn't, h-he would have attack Lady Vert… Oh, Nep is gonna kill me!" IF buried her hands into her face. "I promised her that I would _protect_ Gear! Not _hurt_ him!" The Guild Agent began to shiver. Vert enveloped IF into a hug, but not even the comfort of Leanbox's CPU could stop the shaking. "G-Gear, I'm sorry!" Compa turned away from Nepgear's wound and looked at her closest friend.

"...Iffy." Compa turned to Histoire. When the tome fairy made eye contact, the two nodded and Histoire floated over to where Nepgear's injury was. Meanwhile, Compa moved away from Nepgear and towards IF. Once Compa was right in front of the agent, Vert stepped back a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Compa raised both of her hands and slammed them onto IF's cheeks. Vert jumped slightly in surprise while Histoire flinched from the sound. However, Histoire refocused her attention onto Nepgear, raising both her arms over him. A light began to shine from the palms of her hands and descended onto Nepgear.

Tears began to build up as IF tensed up from the pain.

"It's okay, Iffy." Compa smiled at her friend, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. "Ge-Ge would have done the same thing, and I'm sure Nep-Nep would have too." IF's lips quivered.

"C-Compa…" Compa's smile brightened.

"Now turn that frown upside down and wipe those tearsy-wearsies away." IF slightly narrowed her eyes.

"N-No, I'm not crying because of Gear anymore… I-I'm crying cause that hurt." Compa's eyes widened.

" _Sorryyyyyyy!"_ Compa yanked IF into a hug while whispering as hard as she could. Vert let out a small giggle as the door behind her opened.

Blanc slowly popped her head into the room, eyes quickly darting around the room. Upon seeing Vert, Blanc sighed in relief.

"Oh, Blanc. What is it?" Blanc shook her head, stepping inside.

"I was on my way here when I found blood stains on the wall and the floor." Blanc crossed her arms, slightly frowning. "...kinda got worried." Vert began to smile. As her smile got wider, Blanc began to slowly hide her face.

"Oh, pray tell. Was this concern over me?" Blanc stared hard at the ground.

"..." Vert's smile couldn't get any wider even if she gave Blanc her breasts. Which she did, in a non-surgical way, by giving Lowee's CPU an air-crushing hug. Stunned by the sudden softness, Blanc was whisked deeper into Vert's embrace as she twirled around.

"Oh, Blanc~! You have to be more honest with yourself or else you might end up giving mixed signals~!" Blanc scrunched her eyes shut as Vert pressed their foreheads together.

"Sh-Shut up!" Blanc instinctively lay her head against Vert's bosom. "So… what was with the blood?" Vert froze in her swing.

"Well…" Vert twirled around so that Blanc could see IF and Compa while Histoire was still treating a wounded Nepgear. "...it's quite the tale."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

IF and Vert recounted their encounter with Nepgear's strangely hostile behavior. Blanc had been released from her bouncy prison, which she secretly begrudged, and nodded her head.

"Hmm… That explains the blood, and the crack on the wall." Blanc noted to herself that she should get that fixed while they were away. While she didn't want to put more work onto neither Financier nor Mina, Lowee's CPU had to get rid of that mess immediately. "But that barely explains what happened to Nepgear…" Histoire finally lowered her hands, releasing a worried sigh.

"I believe I can explain that." Taking a deep breath, Histoire turned to the four before her. "This is mostly a conjecture… However, I will give you the basis on what I have come up with." IF, having calmed down, crossed her arms.

"Alright, give it to us."

"You all should know by now that CPUs are given power via their Shares." Blanc and Vert nodded. "However, it should be noted that whenever a CPUs' people lose faith in them, that another form of energy is created." Histoire floated closer to Nepgear and placed her hand on his neck. "That energy is simply called, Negative Energy." Compa tilted her head to the side.

"What does it do?"

"As the name suggests, its causes a CPU to feel a sudden loss in strength whenever faith is lost. Normally, a CPU would just feel that." Vert closed her eyes. "Negative Energy is filtered out by the remaining Shares, preventing their harmful effects from causing any more damage to the CPU. Meanwhile, A CPU Candidate would feel the effects more than a CPU. This also runs true for Negative Energy..." Histoire's breathing became ragged, her shoulders began to shiver and the Oracle gripped her arms.

"And you're suggesting that since Nepgear's not a normal CPU Candidate, that there's something amiss?" Vert's voice pierced the silence as Historie nodded. IF's eyes widened.

"And Gear doesn't have much in the way of Shares to begin with!" Histoire opened her eyes, looking downwards.

"That's also correct. Now please… think about this question before I ask of it… Because of Nepgear's status as a CPU Candidate, any and all forms of faith are directed immediately to him." Histoire turned to Nepgear, tracing her tiny finger against the burn mark on Nepgear's neck. "What would happen if an Incomplete Candidate were to amass a large amount of Negative Energy, enough to overpower his lack of Shares?" Blanc's mouth moved on it's own.

"The energy itself would begin to attack Nepgear himself, as if there was miasma inside him." Histoire lowered her head.

"That is where my conjecture begins, Blanc…" Histoire floated away from Nepgear and opened up some files. "The other Incomplete Candidates exhibited their disabilities early in their lives, except for the _Deity of Sin_ , who resisted for almost a century." Histoire pushed some files away and opened more. The files floated over to IF and Vert. "Yet, Nepgear exhibited traits similar to _Dark Orange_ and the _Original Failure_ , but has lived longer than both. " Histoire bit her lip. "If your account is accurate, then Nepgear has not lost his mind because of the Sharicite's rejection. Yet at the same time, Negative Energy has never been recorded to be able to create a near-solid form and cause physical damage like this." Compa stood up, nearly knocking Blanc into Vert's lap.

"D-Do you think that Nega-Energy thingy has something to do with Ge-Ge?" Histoire slowly nodded.

"Unfortunately, I cannot ascertain the true cause. Neither if Nepgear's sudden behavior may be because of this puberty of his, nor the Negative Energy amassed within is destroying him. ...I can only fear it." Histoire coughed into her hand.

"I must return to Planeptune." As the Oracle floated away from Nepgear, everyone else stood up. "Please inform Neptune and Noire of this predicament, and only them. We do not want any more unnecessary actions, especially since Neptune will act first." Histoire stared long and hard at Nepgear. "I do not know if Nepgear's sudden behavior was triggered or was released, and if you can, observe him as much as possible." Everyone nodded and Histoire made a relieved smile. "Thank you, everyone. Now please, go and enjoy your day…" Histoire vanished in a flash of light.

Once the light was gone, all eyes turned to the door as Blanc opened it.

"Blanc, are going to find Neptune?" Blanc turned to Vert, shaking her head.

"I already know where that pudding head is." Blanc leaned against the door. "But, I was supposed to ask if anyone wanted to come shopping with us. In order to keep anything from getting too out of hand." Blanc's eyes stared straight at IF. "You can come whenever you want Vert. But… you sure you wanna come?" IF took a deep breath, and turned to Compa. The nurse put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. IF nodded.

"If anyone's gonna tell Nep what happened, I think it should be me…" Blanc straightened herself and left out of the door.

"Alright, better get out to the front before we leave without you." Blanc gave a dismissive wave as the door shut. IF turned to Nepgear, gripping her fist tightly.

"I-I should go, tell Gear I'll bring him something…" Before Compa or Vert could say goodbye, IF bolted out of the door. As the door slammed shut, Vert turned to see Compa already at Nepgear's bedside, checking his pulse.

"Compa, would not like to partake with the others." Compa smiled, but shook her head.

"I really want to, but Ge-Ge's in trouble! I can't leave him like this!" Vert smiled softly, turning to the door.

"Would mind if I brought some tea?" Compa looked at Vert quizzically?

"No, are you not going either Lady Vert?" Vert shook her head.

"As Nepgear's master and mentor, one should look after her disciple." Vert headed towards the door, staring at the feet of Nepgear's bed. " _Nepgear, please. Make this a happy ending for everyone…"_

Vert left through the door and closed it.

* * *

 **Nepgear and Uni's Lily Rank:** **7**

 ***View a certain even to increase these character's Lily Rank.**


	16. Positives & Negatives

Chapter 16: Positives & Negatives

* * *

"Woaaaaah!" Neptune, Rom and Ram ran through the entrance of LowLake, arms spread wide. "THIS PLACE IS GINORMOUS!" The twins ran past Neptune and began twirling in circle, orbiting around in a circle.

"It's so huge! It's awesome!"

"Whee!" Uni, Noire and IF walked into the shopping mall, with Blanc letting the door close. Uni took a quick glance around the entire place.

Just as she expected from the Land of White Serenity, the entire mall was colored a pure diamond white with hints of ivory blue that grew paler as it moved towards the ceiling. The only things that ruined the monotony of the blue and white were the colorful ads the completely covered the wall, signs that gave directions and the stores themselves.

"Huh…" Uni crossed her arms. "This place is smaller than I thought it was." Noire shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the floor. IF pulled out her phone.

"This is just the entrance, there's more stuff up ahead."

"Well, at least they clean the place up." The floor that Noire stared glistened and the CPU could almost see her reflection on the ground.

"I heard that the cleaning lady takes her job seriously." Neptune, Rom and Ram ran ahead of the group. Blanc raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't run! You'll fall!" Giggling, Neptune spun on her toes and stuck a tongue out.

"Don't be a silly billy, Blanc! As if a main protagonist like cou-Woah!" As Neptune turned around to dash ahead, the CPU slipped onto the floor and slid a few yards ahead. "Wheeeeeeeee!" Blanc slapped herself in the face with full force. IF sighed, taking a picture. Uni and Noire sweatdropped, with Noire slightly raising a hand.

"Well, at least she's having fun…" Ram and Rom's eyes lit up.

"Wow, slippery!" Rom watched as Neptune continued to slide as she tried to get up.

"Oooh! Oh! I wanna do that!" Ram knelt down, ready to pounce. Suddenly, the twins heard someone clear their throat behind them. Turning around, Ram was faced with the red eye of her dear sister Blanc. "Uh… Nevermind! I-It looked like it was gonna feel lame anyways…" After Blanc nodded in approval, Ram sighed in relief as Neptune returned.

"That was like, the best slide ever! Ram, you s-" Neptune met with Blanc's eyes. "S-Shouldn't do that! It wouldn't be right for a CPU Candidate to act like a kid!" Rom tilted her head to the side, causing her hat to slide a bit.

"But aren't we kids?" Neptune bit her lip.

"Uh… yeah you are! It's just… your…. Uh," Neptune suddenly smirked. "Slightly big kids!" Ram blinked.

"Say whaaat?" Blanc shrugged her shoulders.

"It means that while you're still kids, you gotta set examples to the little-er ones." Blanc rolled her eyes at Neptune. "Unlike this nimrod over here." Neptune pouted. Before Neptune could open her mouth, Blanc grabbed her by the hood and dragged her away.

"Wha-H-Hey, Blanc! Not the hood! It's my signature outfit!"

"You literally have twenty hoodies that are the exact same!" Everyone followed the two, Uni glancing at her phone.

"Yeah, but this is my 'Go to Lowee and mooch off of Blanc's snacks' hoodie!" Noire raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, so they actually have different purposes?" IF put away one phone and pulled out another one, stepping out of a running child's way without looking up. Uni followed behind IF, not wanting to get run over by someone. Glancing at her phone again, Uni sighed when she just saw her lock screen.

Uni had sent Nepgear a text message, stating that Blanc was borrowing the Gear-Wing. When they landed, she had sent another asking if he, Vert, or Compa wanted anything. However, Uni never got a reply.

" _Nepgear normally replies immediately, three minutes at most… with a river of 'Sorry's attached to it."_ Scratching her head, Uni put her phone away just to see IF and Noire duck into a store next to her. Looking inside, Uni saw Noire and Neptune attempted to dress up IF while Rom was showing a new hat to Ram and Blanc. " _I hope he's okay…"_

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"Ngh…" Nepgear twitched slowly. Struggling to move his fingers, the young man sucked in air through clenched teeth. "Gaah!" Gasping, Nepgear buried his head into his pillow as his body lurched into the air. Once his body laid down on the bed, tears rolled down his face and drenched his pillows. " _Aaah…"_ Nepgear felt a constant sting in his shoulder. Sucking in some air, he struggled to reach out towards it. Upon touching it, Nepgear's eyes shot wide upon. " _ **Aaaaaargh!"**_

Nepgear's painful roar was followed by the door to his room bursting open. Compa rushed inside, carrying a first aid kit.

"Ge-Ge!? Are you okay?" Through rugged breaths, Nepgear tried to look at his friend through wet, blurry eyes.

"C-Compa…?" Compa quickly nodded her head. The nurse bent down, focusing on his shoulder. "My shoulder…"

"It's okay, Ge-Ge… You're going to be okay. It's just a bullet wound." Startled, Nepgear tried to sit up. However, he was quickly pinned down by Compa and flinched from the pain as his shoulder was pressed on. Compa gasped. "Sorry! I forgot I don't have to use too much force on you!" Nepgear gritted his teeth and attempted to reach for his shoulder again, but Compa caught it.

"Compa… you said there was a bullet in my shoulder?" The nurse nodded. "...Why?" Compa dropped her smile and gently caressed Nepgear's hand.

"Um… I'm not really sure, but I was told that Iffy shot you." Nepgear attempted to gasp and sat up hastily, slamming his shoulder and Compa's hand against the bedpost. "Owwie!" Nepgear gritted his teeth and let out a strangled yelp as Compa slightly shook her hand. "Ge-Ge, you have to be careful! Who knows what could happen to the bullet if you move around too much!" Nepgear blinked, tears flowed freely as his eyelids pushed them away.

"...Compa?"

"Yessy?"

"I don't think that bullets normally move around in your shoulder." Compa gripped onto Nepgear, avoiding his shoulder, and stared at him seriously.

"Ge-Ge, there's nothing normal with Iffy's bullets." Nepgear began to worry.

'R-Really?" Compa nodded slowly.

"Iffy's gun was commissioned by Nep-Nep, it was custom-made to make its bullets pierce through what normal bullets can't." Nepgear stared at his shoulder.

"Woah… that's cool…" Compa blinked a couple times.

"Y-you're not mad at Iffy?" Nepgear shook his head, grabbing it as his head throbbed in pain.

"I-I'm glad she did that… Or else I don't know what would have happened to me..." The door opened and Vert walked through the door.

"Ah, hello Nepgear." Nepgear gave her a small nod in response. "I'm happy to see that you're alright." Vert smiled as she took a seat next to Nepgear. "Are you alright?" Nepgear stared at his right hand.

"..."

" _The truth is happening."_ Compa and Vert looked at each other as Nepgear continued to stare at his hand.

" _You know… I really hated how you never took me seriously… Always acting as if I would be the 'precious little brother' forever… HA!"_ Nepgear grimaced as his memories came back to him.

" _You know, I always wondered if other CPUs could bleed…"_ Nepgear slammed his hand against face, writhing. The two girls flinched, surprised.

"No! Stop!" Compa grasped onto Nepgear, trying to hold him down. Vert stared in shock.

" _Psh, don't be so boring… Let's have some fun!"_ Nepgear threw his head back. A new set of tears began rolling down his face.

"G-Ge-Ge!? What's going on?" Nepgear kicked his legs out, throwing himself into the air.

" _Oh, Iffy~! Did you wanna play Bloodbath, too?!"_ Nepgear's cried out as he remembered himself threatening one of his closest, and few, friends.

"No! No! **Please!** " Compa tried her best to calm down Nepgear. However, the boy's frantic reactions grew in intensity. Steeling herself, Vert moved towards the two. Grabbing Nepgear's two shoulders and nudging Compa to the side, Vert slammed him onto the bed with ease.

"Nepgear, calm down!" Nepgear couldn't see Vert, nor could he see Compa.

" _Of course it won't make sense… If you're dead!"_ Nepgear threw his hand out forward, reaching out for the weapon he wasn't holding.

"NOOO!" Vert grasped onto the hand Nepgear held out. Nepgear paused, his arm still trembling. His eyes slowly turned to look at Vert. "V-Vert?" Vert nodded, grasping his hand with both of her own.

"Nepgear, are you okay?" Nepgear's heart was pumping fast and sweat was beginning to roll down his face. Lips trembling, Nepgear hesitated before nodding his head. Vert and Compa helped him to sit up. The young man shook his head.

"I-I-I… I remember now." Nepgear put his hands on his forehead, pulling his bangs back. "I almost killed IF." Vert shook her head.

"You didn't Nepgear; I'm positive of it." Vert affirmed. Nepgear shook his head wildly.

"No, it was me!" Nepgear squeezed his eyes shut. "But I couldn't control myself either!" Compa paused.

"What do you mean?" Nepgear opened his eyes, staring at his hands.

"I… I heard a voice inside my head, and I couldn't move my body." Nepgear shivered. "I… I think the voice was actually controlling me." Compa and Vert looked at each other again.

"Nepgear…" Vert put a hand on Nepgear's shoulder. "I think we should tell Neptune and Histoire." Compa nodded.

"Yeah, they might know something about this." Nepgear sighed, gripping onto his blanket.

"...Yeah, okay."

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Uni stared at her phone. She wanted to send another text to Nepgear, but he still hadn't responded to the one she sent before. Sighing, she decided to send one to Compa. Putting her phone in her pocket, she stared at the bag hanging from her wrist.

Inside was a new dress that she had painstakingly picked out with the help with the twins and IF. Neptune wanted to get her something more 'adult-like', but Blanc smacked her in the head in retaliation. Noire held back a laugh by covering her mouth. While hilarious to her, Uni had to take the dress and buy it before Neptune got any funny ideas. Or if she influenced the twins.

Sitting down on a bench, Uni looked back into the store.

Neptune was pushing IF into a changing room. The protesting girl was holding a frilly and girly dress. Meanwhile, Ram and Rom were picking out dresses for themselves while Blanc was standing still. The CPU of Lowee was ignoring the stacks of hats Rom and Ram had placed on top of her hat and was reading a pocketbook. Uni was amazed at Blanc's balance. The stack, despite being almost as tall as Blanc, was not falling off even when it was tilted to the side.

Giggling to herself, Uni checked her phone again. There were no messages from Nepgear. Biting the inside of her cheek, Uni crossed one leg over the other. The girl leaned against the bench she was on. Closing her eyes, Uni sighed.

"You okay?" Glancing up, Uni found herself staring at Blanc. In Blanc's hand was a bag containing all the hats Rom and Ram had piled on her head.

"I-I'm okay." Uni gripped onto her phone. "It's just that Nepgear hasn't answered any of my messages yet." Blanc scoffed, raising an eyebrow and making a smirk. The latter of which Uni never thought Blanc could make.

"Clingy much?" Uni spat out the air she inhales, coughing. Blanc silently watched the younger girl, taking note of this reaction. Letting a quiet laugh, Blanc patted Uni on the back. "Joking, joking. Anyways, you should just go at your own pace." Uni glanced at the dress, a small blush growing on her face. Blanc put her bag at her feet and placed her hands on her lap. "Knowing him, he'll compliment anything you'll wear." Uni nearly slipped off the bench as she fell forward.

"...Y-Yeah, I bet he would…" Uni stared at the dress again, frowning. Her eyes suddenly widened. " _W-Wait, he'll compliment anything I'll wear?"_ The girl bit the inside of her cheek. Seeing IF step out of the changing room wearing jean shorts and torn up red shirt and a red hat, Uni sped past the blushing girl and into the room.

IF, Noire, and Neptune watched Uni slam the door shut. Meanwhile, Rom and Ram ran by, holding up a new dress for IF to wear. Blanc walked up, pushing a confused IF into another changing room and the twins chased her in.

 **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)** **(ↀ** **Д** ↀ **)**

Nepgear, Vert and Compa had moved to the sunroom. Despite Lowee being covered in snow nearly year round, the Basilicomm had a sunroom installed so Blanc could have a place to read while being able to keep an eye on the twins.

Sitting around table, Nepgear was leaning over the table. He was gripping onto a cup of hot cocoa, shivering. Compa was sitting next to him while Vert sat across. Compa placed a hand on Nepgear's shoulder.

"Ge-Ge, are you feeling better?" Nepgear's breath shuddered as he tried to take a drink.

"Y-Yeah… a little bit." Compa began to rub Nepgear's back. Nepgear's shaking stopped a little bit, but Nepgear's hands caused drips of hot cocoa slide down the edges of the cup.

Vert took a sip of her mandarin tea as she watched Nepgear. Feeling her phone vibrate, the CPU opened it up to show a message from Blanc. Opening the message, Vert saw a picture of Uni in her new dress and Blanc asked her if Nepgear is okay. Describing Nepgear's current state, Vert sent the message and sent the same one to Neptune.

Neptune immediately responded with a crying emoji with a thumbs up.

Vert glanced at Nepgear, who was leaning against Compa's shoulder. The boy was fighting against his shaking so much, Compa had to hold onto his cup. Pulling her tea from her lips, Vert hid a visible frown behind her mouth.

" _Blanc, I think I'll distract Nepgear from his negativity."_

Vert sent her message.

Putting her phone down, Vert leaned forward.

"Nepgear," The boy in question looked up as Compa stroked his head. "It has come to my attention that you are experiencing a sudden change." Nepgear gripped onto Compa and nodded slowly. Vert gave him a reassuring smile. "Well, sometimes people tend to dwell on those changes too much." Vert leaned back against her seat, crossing her leg over the other. As she did so, Nepgear blinked in confusion.

"Dwell?" Vert nodded her head firmly.

"Yes, and sometimes the best thing to do is to move away from it." Nepgear paused.

"B-But… the voice…" Vert cleared her throat.

"Yes, that may be trouble in the future. But we must make sure that this voice you're hearing is just a figment of your imagination." Vert waved her hand around, her finger bouncing between pointing at Nepgear's hand and heart. "If you continue to think about the voice in your head without confirming if it is real or not, you will assume that it is real." Vert slowly closed her hand into a fist, holding it firmly. "If that happens, your mind will begin to obsess over the voice and eventually lose your sanity."

Nepgear flinched, gripping onto Compa's arm. Compa's eyes stare at Nepgear as Vert talked.

"As such, we must take your mind away from this voice in your head. If the voice vanishes, it was possibly not a problem to begin with. If you continue to hear this voice even when you don't focus on it, we must contact Histoire immediately." Nepgear pulled away from Compa and stared at his lap, specifically his hands. Nepgear gripped his pant legs. "Does that sound alright?" Taking deep breath, Nepgear gave Vert a hesitant nod.

Vert's smile grew. Finishing her cup of tea, Vert suddenly stood up.

"Well then, let us get going." Nepgear glanced at Vert's cup, then his slightly warm cup of cocoa, then to Vert.

"Going? Where?" Vert walked over to the door as Nepgear spoke. Stopping at the doorway, Vert held one arm out. With a flash of light, her spear appeared in her hand.

"The courtyard. If I remember correctly, I haven't seen your progress with the spear in quite some time." Nepgear stared in surprise as Vert turned to him. "Shall we have a little quiz?" Nepgear's eyes sparkled. Grabbing his cup, Nepgear chugged the rest of his drink. A small drizzle of liquid chocolate rolled down his face. Putting his cup down and wiping his face, Nepgear balled his hands up and bent his knees slightly.

"Yeah!" Nepgear leaped into the air. He then ran after a giggling Vert as she left the room. As he reached the doorway, Nepgear stopped and turned around to look at Compa. His friend was staring at Nepgear with a blank look on her face. "Compa?"

Compa blinked and shook her head as she heard her name.

"Y-Yessy?" Nepgear gave Compa an excited smile.

"Come on, let's go!" Compa nodded as Nepgear bolted out of the door. Compa slowly stood up and picked up Nepgear's cup.

" _That's strange, Ge-Ge didn't react to either Vert or my body…"_ Compa thought back to when Nepgear was panicking when she, IF and Neptune told him about puberty. " _Ge-Ge is going through puberty, but if he's not reacting to me or Vert… then why did he act that way?"_ Compa paused as she picked up Vert's cup. Suddenly, a certain person came to Compa's mind. Standing up straight, Compa felt the ends of her lips rise up and her cheeks began to turn a light pink. "Oh, I get it." Compa began giggling to herself as she realized how much Nepgear cared about that person. "Ge-Ge's growing up…"

* * *

 **Nepgear and Vert's Lily Rank: 7 (Mentorship)**

 **Nepgear and Compa's Lily Rank: 8 (Family)**


End file.
